The Best Laid Plans
by Valjean
Summary: What will it take for Max to realize she's chosen the wrong man to be by her side? Max/Alec
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: All "Dark Angel" characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee (Cameron Eglee Productions) and "Dark Angel" itself belongs to FOX. 

ARCHIVE: Please link to Fanfiction.net. 

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

This story immediately follows the events of "Freak Nation." 

Yes, I had to do my own version of how things might have gone in S3. Not surprisingly, I find myself agreeing with some of the other fanfic writers who have already given their take on this storyline. I had no preconceived notion about how the characters would act on the page when I started. However, just like other authors have written, Logan's presence is trouble in more ways than one (although he means well) and Max still doesn't appreciate Alec. Plus, there are all the logistic problems of maintaining a long term siege in Terminal City. Oh well, guess I'll just have to see how it all turns out, because when I begin a story like this I never know in what direction the characters will take me. -- author's note 

******************************

**Chapter 1  
The Days After**

She was back with Logan. 

Not a good thing, Alec thought as he watched the couple talking together in front of the computer monitors on the other side of the cavernous warehouse. But not completely a bad thing either he amended. Maybe Max really needed Logan right now. She'd been leaning on the guy way too long to go cold turkey on the relationship. But trouble was going to come of it, and not necessarily the kind Max was worried about. 

She and Logan could use prophylactic devices, keep their distance, be careful, and maybe ... just maybe Logan wouldn't die from the virus any time soon. But the toll that kind of constant vigilance would take on Max wasn't what she needed right now -- not when she'd just declared herself the leader of a nation. Hell, she'd been crumbling under the worries while a mere Jam Pony bike messenger. Now, she was a queen with a lot of very frightened subjects to pacify -- subjects who were not going to take kindly to their monarch being in love with an _ordinary_. 

But hey, at least I'm off the hook, Alec thought cynically. The woman he could all too easily love no longer had to pretend she loved him. Max had told Logan last night that it had all been an act, that the two of them had never been a couple, would never be more than friends. 

Now when Logan looked at him there wasn't that weirdness in his eyes. And the guy was maybe even actually glad he'd helped the Manticore brat out yesterday instead of playing the hero just because it was what Max would have wanted him to do. 

_Helped him out._ Hell, Alec thought. Admit it. Logan probably saved my life. And if the roles had been reversed, he wasn't at all sure he'd have been so generous. Logan could have let that Familiar chick crack him on the head. He'd been holding his own until then, but his left arm had grown numb, hanging painfully and uselessly by his side, the wound far worse than he'd been letting on. Even now, a day later, he felt faint just trying to move it. He'd lost a lot of blood too. She probably would have bashed his skull in or broken his neck. And then where would that have left Max? 

Alec couldn't help wondering about that. Would Max have cared very much if he hadn't made it out, if his body had been left behind with Cece's? Oh, she'd have cried and been depressed about losing more of her _family_, but would she have really cared for long? Would Logan's renewed presence in her life have been enough to let her quickly put her memories of "Alec the Pain in the Ass" behind her, relegated with Ben to the "gone but not forgotten", "gee it was nice knowin' you" dustbin of her mind. 

She hadn't spoken to him since yesterday. Not a word. Hadn't asked how he was, or where he was. Just her and Logan in the computer center for the past 18 hours surrounded by an increasingly frightened hoard of freaks. 

She obviously didn't need him. Question was, did he need her? Why was he staying anyway? 

Alec knew the answer. Because he didn't have anyplace else to go. Not unless he wanted to live out the rest of his life in loneliness. Been there done that, he remembered, thinking back to his first days of freedom from Manticore and all the bad choices he'd made before teaming up with Max and her friends. He'd been bred to be part of a squad, a pack, a family. And he'd already found out the hard way that he didn't function well outside his tribe ... didn't function well without -- Max. 

Oh crap, Alec thought. Double crap. 

"Hey, dude. How's the arm?" 

On one level, Alec had been aware of Sketchy's approach, but it took the other man's words to shake him out of his morbid train of thought. 

"It's healin' good," he lied, carefully putting on his trademark cocky, all-is-right-with-the-world smile. "Hey," he said, deliberately flexing the sore limb and hiding the fact the effort brought tears to his eyes. "I'm Marvelous Monty Cora. Remember? A little bullet wound is nothin'." 

"Nothin' to a transgenic maybe," Sketchy said, shaking his head in admiration. "Man, the way you dudes fought yesterday. I'll never forget it. You guys were unbelievable." 

"Well believe it, my man," Alec said, the smile still in place as he carefully tucked his arm against his chest again. "We transgenics kick ass." 

"Good thing too," Sketchy said. "Looks like you guys are gonna have a lot more asses to kick before all of this is over." He glanced meaningfully out toward the perimeter of Terminal City where National Guard tanks and troops were lined up a hundred feet deep. "Ya think Max is gonna be able to talk us out of this?" 

"I don't know, Sketch," Alec said, relieved he could drop the false bravado now that they were discussing something other than his physical person. "I don't know what's gonna happen, and I doubt Max does either. But I do know she'll try her best to keep everyone in here safe." 

Sketchy was looking worried. "About that," he said. "Uh, Alec. Do you think it's true? That there's all kinds of biological and chemical contamination here. That humans ... I mean real people ... I mean, you know. That we could get sick when you guys don't?" 

Alec shrugged, then immediately wished he hadn't. "Don't know that either, Sketch. I suppose if I were you I'd be lookin' for a way out. But the cops, not to mention White, know you, OC, and Logan helped us escape. If you go out there they're gonna interrogate you until you wished you were dead, then lock you in a cell and throw away the key." Alec thought a moment. "Which, I've got to admit is probably a lot better treatment than the rest of us in here would get. Us, they'd just shoot on sight." 

Sketchy looked glum. "That's what OC said." He looked back over his shoulder. "She's not too worried though. In fact, I think she's kinda enjoyin' herself, helping out that X5 with her baby. Who'd have thought OC would be the maternal type." 

"Go figure," Alec said. But he wasn't really listening to Sketchy any more. Joshua was making his way toward him, pushing through a crowd of X5's who'd been hanging around the edge of things, waiting for orders of some kind that so far hadn't been forthcoming. 

"Alec!" his big friend called. "Max sent me to find you." 

About friggin' time, Alec thought, still miffed that she'd ignored him for so long, but at the same time ridiculously glad she'd finally remembered his existence. 

"How's your arm?" Joshua asked. Alec couldn't help but be touched by the genuine concern in his friend's voice. It was Joshua who'd dressed his wound late last night with a field med kit. 

"Give me a couple of days," Alec said, not feeling the need to keep up his brave act anymore. He looked at Joshua. "You did a good job patchin' me up. I appreciate it." 

"Glad I could help," Joshua said, putting a big hand on Alec's good shoulder as they approached the steps leading up to where Max and Logan waited on the balcony. 

Max didn't look very happy. In fact, she looked downright pissed. What did I do now?" Alec thought, taking a deep breath and preparing himself for one of her sarcastic onslaughts. Maybe I didn't bleed enough for her. 

"How's the arm?" Logan asked. 

"For the third time this morning already, it's all right," Alec said, exasperated because the one person he'd hoped would inquire about his health apparently didn't care. _I'm_ all right." He glanced at Max. She looked awful. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair hung in dull ratty strands. On the other hand, he doubted he looked much better. 

"Glad to hear it," Max said, her lips compressing into a thin line as she finally noticed him. "But then you're Manticore. We heal fast." 

"We're _all_ Manticore in here, Max." Alec said. He looked at Logan. "Well, not quite all." 

"What do you mean by that, Alec?" Logan asked quietly. 

"Nothing." Alec cursed himself for the slip of his tongue. But the other transgenics around them had grown silent and were watching ... listening. The damage was done. He'd just picked the scab off the wound. 

Max noticed, and her eyes narrowed. "This is a mistake," she said. "I thought maybe I could count on you for some help. But I should have known better. Go on. Get out of here. Go back to ... whatever you want to do." 

"You _can_ count on me, Max," Alec said quickly. "You counted on me yesterday, didn't you? And didn't I come through? Fought with you? Won with you? And I'm still here, Max. Still with you." 

Her eyes softened. "I need someone I can trust," she said quietly. "Someone the others will trust." 

Alec looked around the balcony. Mole was watching them, as were Joshua, and several others. "I'll do my best," Alec said, knowing it would be a mistake to make false promises. 

Max turned to address Mole. "You and the others say you don't think Logan and I will make good decisions. Will you trust Alec? If he thinks it's all right will you do what I say?" 

Good grief, she's making me some kind of go-between Alec thought, not certain if he liked this development. 

"We trust Alec more than you," Mole said. "But he's still X5. Not like us." 

"Alec and you then?" Max said, a touch of desperation creeping into her voice. 

Mole thought about her words a minute as he rigorously chomped on his cigar. "All right," he finally said. "We'll try it that way for awhile. But the first time anything goes wrong, my people will decide how to do things our own way." 

"Sounds like you've got your chance, Max," Logan said. 

Max nodded. Then looked at Alec. "I need to talk to you -- alone." 

"No secrets," Mole growled. 

"It's personal," Max shot back. 

Mole's eyes widened a bit, then he grinned. "Oh," he said. "_That._" He glanced from Logan to Alec. "'Bout time you picked a mate." 

"Hey!" Logan said, almost in unison with Alec. "She's not--" 

But Mole had turned away and was going down the steps, in a hurry to leave them some privacy. 

Alec looked apologetically at Logan. "Logan, I swear I didn't tell him--" 

"I know. He's just jumping to conclusions. Figures Max and you are still ... not that you ever were." 

"Not that we ever were," Alec muttered under his breath. 

Max was just looking embarrassed. 

"This is _so_ awkward," Alec said to her as they headed across the bay to a smaller set of rooms. "Everyone thinks we're ... or that we should be ..." 

"Shut up," she said. She paused at the entrance to one of the abandoned offices. "Logan, I need to talk to Alec alone." 

A brief flicker of suspicion crossed Logan's eyes, then was gone. "You can fill me in later," he said. "I'll go get some food. Provided I can find any." 

Max smiled at Logan then -- in a way Alec knew she'd never smile at him, a tiny sparkle appearing at last in her eyes. God, what he'd give to have that effect on her. But of course when she turned back to him all she did was scowl. 

Once inside she closed the door and asked, "Do you know how many people we have in Terminal City?" 

Alec shrugged with his right shoulder. "No. But I imagine Mole does." 

"Three hundred fifty-seven," Max said. "The vast majority of them either transhuman or the lower X series. They can't poke a finger out of here without being spotted." 

"Neither can the X5's and above, Max," Alec said slowly. "Remember Biggs? The thermal scan? We're all penned." 

"I was afraid you'd say that." She sat down on a rusty stool, the weariness back in her eyes. Alec wanted to put his arms around her, comfort her, but he knew that would be a mistake ... not unless she came to him first. 

"You got some kinda plan?" he asked. 

Max sighed. "We've got electric and water because the utilities can't shut us down without turning off half the city. We're tapped directly into the main lines below and our people are making sure those lines stay in place." She looked up at him. "Food and ammunition is another thing." 

"We're good in the ammo department," Alec said. "It's not like we've had a major shootout -- yet." 

"We'll need more," she said. "And the food situation ..." 

"Is not good," Alec agreed. "I've had nothin' but crackers and coke since we holed up here. There are a few supplies stored away, but everyone who's got them is hoardin'. Can't blame 'em either." 

"Alec, we could be here for months. They can't just storm the place or bomb us. They'd take too many casualties, not to mention we're in the middle of Seattle. Our perimeters are pretty much sealed, and they're also afraid of the bio and chemical hazards here. Anyone coming in would need a safe suit and those things are cumbersome, not to mention expensive. I can't see an army invading any time soon." 

"They'll try to starve us out," Alec said, the military tactician in him assessing the situation. 

"Which means we've got to find a way to get supplies in without them knowing. Eventually, when they see how determined we are and that we're not starving to death, maybe they'll finally negotiate." 

"A long haul," Alec said. 

She slumped more in her seat and he stepped closer, at last laying a hand on her shoulder. "Max," he said gently. "We'll figure something out. We always do." 

"We _do_ make a pretty good team sometimes," she admitted with a wane smile. She looked up at him, her eyes ... he couldn't quite read what was in her eyes. "Alec, I'm glad you're okay. I couldn't let myself think about it during the fight, or last night, or this morning. But, hey ... I'm really glad you're okay." 

Alec realized she was probably telling him this because she knew he wanted to hear it. She was manipulating him because she really did need his help. But he didn't care. It somehow validated his existence when Max said things like that to him. 

"Alec?" 

He blinked. He hadn't meant to get lost in thought like that. 

"What do you think? Can you get the X5s, 6s and 7s together and form teams to venture out for supplies? I know the X's respect you ... listen to you. Especially the younger ones." 

"I _was_ a unit leader at Manticore," Alec said slowly, at the same time wondering how on Earth Max expected him to get men out of Terminal City. 

"You were an officer?" 

"First Lieutenant." 

Max nodded her head, a fleeting look of respect for him in her eyes. "Funny. I never knew that." 

"You never asked." 

I'm impressed." 

"Don't be. I lost the rank after ..." He didn't finish the sentence -- saw from her expression that he didn't need to. 

"That doesn't matter," she said softly. "You're still a natural leader, even moreso than your X5 sequence allows. I've seen you in action too many times. When you can't get people to do what you say, you somehow manage to talk them into it anyway." 

He couldn't help it. He smiled. Compliments from Max were rare. And that _was_ a compliment, in a back-handed sort of way. 

"Some of the X5's in here don't think I'm much of a leader," he said. "A few of them know I was busted down in rank and they're gonna hold that against me. They won't take kindly if I try to issue any orders." 

"You'll have my authority to back you up." 

"Might not be enough, Max. That bunch down on Oak Street are really bent out of shape over the ordinaries after what happened to Biggs. And they think you're too close to one of the enemy." 

"Logan's done nothing but help us," Max snapped. 

Alec backed up a step, holding his hands in the air. "I know. You're preachin' to the choir here, Max. I'm just sayin' they're pretty independent." 

"Look, if you can't handle it--" 

"I didn't say I couldn't handle it. I'm just sayin' it won't be easy. And we better have a good plan for going on these food forays of yours. Primarily a way in and out. The cops and National Guard might not know exactly what some of us look like, but you can be sure White's given them my picture as well as yours. He had to have recognized me yesterday, even if he didn't realize I was still alive before. And then there are the thermal scans. They can spot any of us that way." 

Max was looking defeated again, and Alec felt like a bully. 

But then she looked up, the determination back. "You're right," she said. "It's going to be hard. But we're Manticore. We can figure it out." 

He grabbed her arm as she swept by him headed for the door. "Max, what about you and Logan?" 

"None of your business," she said, her eyes going cold again. 

He let her go. 

###


	2. Chapter 2

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 2  
Dante**

"Max, I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm not sure Alec's the way to go this time." 

Max looked up from the clipboard she'd been reading. "Why not? He's certainly capable of pulling off a job like this. Jacking semis from grocery store loading bays is a lot easier than some of the cat burglar stuff he's done. And, more importantly, I trust him. Well, I pretty much trust him." 

Logan pushed away from the computer monitor, rubbing his eyes. "Trust issues aside, which you've got to admit are pretty big issues where Alec's concerned, I don't think he can keep the other X5's in line." 

Max was frowning. She hated to admit it, but she kind of agreed with Logan, especially after Alec himself had expressed doubts regarding his relationship with his brethren. She looked out over the main warehouse, noting the many mutants busily going about their business, maintaining equipment, setting up computer terminals, distributing what little supplies they had to hungry people standing in line ... 

"Logan, I've already asked him. I can't just go tell him I've changed my mind, that I don't want his help after all." 

"We still need his help, Max. Like you said, he's a pro cat burglar and good at what he does. Once we get that forgotten tunnel to the ocean shored up he can come and go as he pleases, help us as he wants. That way he's helpful but expendable. If we lose him it won't disrupt your chain of command." 

Logan was watching her closely, obviously gauging her reaction to his words. "There's another X5 I've been hearing about," he said. "501. Calls himself Dante. They say he's the one really in charge down on Oak Street. He'd probably be the better choice to lead the X's. He's already got their respect. I say we bring him up here and at least talk to him." 

Max didn't like what she was hearing. Logan had never been extremely fond of Alec, but he'd never actually spoken against him -- until now. "Alec's not stupid, Logan," she said quietly. "He'll be hurt, really hurt, if I take the mission away from him." She stared out across the cavernous room, watching the speedy yet controlled activity. "And he's _not_ expendable." 

*****

"Dante!" Alec said. "What the hell does she want to talk to that pig for?" 

"Don't know," Joshua said. "Mole just says Max sent word for him to come to the command center." 

"Yeah, well Max had better be careful. She was gone from Manticore long before the big boys like him came out to play. She doesn't know his kind. He doesn't just like to fight, he likes to kill. And I hear he's gone a little nuts out here in the free world, taking what and who he wants, giving all the X's a pretty bad reputation." He looked at Joshua. "She'd call me an angel compared to that jackass, and you know what an amoral jerk Max thinks I am." 

"Max doesn't think you're a jerk, Alec," Joshua said. "Max trusts you, likes you. You're her friend." 

"Maybe so. But Dante's no one's friend. My squad went on a mission with his a few years ago. We were supposed to take out a stockpile of biological weapons in Iraq. They were being kept in the middle of this village." Alec looked off into the distance, forcing himself to remember things he'd tried so hard to forget. His voice dropped lower. "My team blew up the caverns where the weapons were. 501's squad was in charge of keeping the Iraqi troops off our backs. They went through that village like a pack of wolves. I never saw so many bodies in my life. Women, children, old people ... a few soldiers." he looked up at Joshua. "Manticore called it collateral damage. 501 wasn't even reprimanded. Hell, I think that's why they promoted him to team leader. Everyone was so friggin' scared of him ... Manticore saw that as an asset." 

Joshua was nodding in sympathy. "I hear things about him too," he said slowly. "They say he hurts women." 

"Women?" Alec said. "What women? The only women down on Oak Street are X5's. Even that shithead couldn't rape one of them. They'd kill him first." 

"Don't know," Joshua said. "Just hear things. They say he's hurt one female really bad. Since then the others do what he says." 

Alec had at first been miffed that Max was going to talk to Dante. Now, he was getting scared. "I'd go down there myself and take this fucker out except--" 

"Except what?" 

"Except short of shooting him in the head there's probably no way I can. He's got six inches and a hundred pounds on me, built like a pro wrestler -- one of Manticore's bigger series. My body was designed more for stealth, speed, and beauty. 501's pure power." 

"Alec is a good fighter. Strong. Alec could beat Dante." 

Alec laughed and flung his good arm around Joshua's shoulders. "You know what Big Fella, you have no idea how great it makes me feel, you havin' faith in me like that. Too bad Max doesn't agree. Maybe I could beat Dante in a fight if I had to. But the fact is, I really don't wanna hafta try." He flexed his sore shoulder. For some reason it was bothering him more today. Joshua noticed. 

"You need time to heal, Alec." 

"Give me three more days and I'll be good as new," Alec said, glancing up at the command center. Something was going on up there. A group of X5's were ascending the stairs and it looked like Logan and Max were waiting to greet them. 

"That Dante?" Joshua asked, pointing to a large, dark haired X5 male surrounded by five other X's -- three male, two female. 

"Biggs hated him," Alec said quietly. "Said he was really bad news. Max shouldn't even be talking to him. She should have left this to me." 

"Logan probably told her to." 

"Of course," Alec said, his eyes never leaving the large X5 who was now being greeted by Max. "Logan would." 

*****

"We asked you here so we could fill you in on what's been happening," Max said to the group of X5's who'd just arrived. She nodded at the activity below. "We've got a lot of things going for us. Power, water, plenty of ammo. The news on television says the government doesn't know what to do for now so they're just going to wait. That buys us some time. However, we're still short of food." 

"That's where we come in, right?" a big X5 male said. Max couldn't help but be impressed by his size. She had to literally crane her neck to look into his eyes. But when she did, she wished she hadn't. They were the kind of eyes she remembered from Manticore. Emotionless. Dead. 

_Had Alec's eyes ever been so cold? Now they're so warm and green and laughing._

"What are you staring at?" Dante challenged. 

"Nothing," Max said, caught off guard in the moment of awkward thought. 

"Max?" Logan said. 

"We need your help," she continued. "I've heard you're the leader of the X's on Oak Street. We're going to soon be sending foraging missions through a tunnel we're opening up. The mutants can't venture out for obvious reasons, so that leaves it up to our kind." 

"My squad's getting hungry," Dante said. "But what we find we keep for ourselves. That's how it's always been." 

"Well, things are different now," Logan said. "We've all got to stick together if we're going to survive." 

Dante stared at him. "And what's an ordinary got to say about anything?" he said, his lips pulling back in a mirthless grin. He looked Max up and down. "I figured you were a stupid little bitch when I heard you'd shacked up with 494, one of Manticore's most glaring failures. But now here you sit takin' advice from ... this." He pointed at Logan, then glanced around. "Where is 494 anyway? Heard he was the one you put in charge, which makes me wonder what you want with me." 

"He's right here," Alec's deep voice said from the top of the steps. "Max, what are you doing?" 

"My job," Max said sharply. "I didn't send for you. Go away." 

"No," Alec said. "You're about to make a big mistake and I'm not gonna let you." 

"Alec, go away. That's an order." 

"Yeah, go away traitor," Dante said. "We don't need defective soldiers here." 

"Alec's not--" 

"Max, leave it," Alec said as his lips quirked up in a smile. "I can handle this just fine." 

"There's nothing to handle," Max said tensely, not liking the look in Alec's eyes. He was about to do something stupid. 

"The bitch said for you to get lost," Dante snarled. "But if you wanna stay, that's fine. It's the excuse I've been waitin' for." And then with the speed of a striking snake, he lunged across the balcony, knife in hand. 

Dante was quick, but Alec was quicker. The swipe of the blade barely touched him as Alec spun backwards, nimbly avoiding all but the very tip. A streak of blood appeared on his belly, staining his grey t-shirt crimson, the wound superficial. 

Max yelled, "Hey!" and started forward, but found one of the other X's between her and the two fighting males. 

Alec danced aside, feinting first right, then left with his injured arm before whirling and knocking the knife from Dante's hand with a crescent kick. 

"What's wrong 501," Alec taunted, his green eyes on fire. "Can't beat a defective soldier?" 

"Alec, stop!" Max shouted, still trying to get around Dante's man without causing the fight to escalate. The last thing they needed was fatalities. 

501 roared and charged Alec, arms wide, trying to grab the slimmer man, intent on defeating him by sheer force. Max didn't doubt that he could snap Alec's spine, but catching hold of 494 was another matter. Alec blurred, getting behind his enemy, grabbing hold of the bigger man's arm and bringing it back and up. There was loud crack of bone splintering and Dante's scream of agony reverberated through the warehouse. 

Everyone down below stopped what they were doing and stared up at them. 

Max couldn't help but be impressed. When had Alec gotten so good at hand-to-hand? She'd seen him beaten several times in the past, but today he was fighting like he really knew what he was doing. 

And then Dante's men were moving in, attacking Alec from behind. One of them viciously clawed his wounded shoulder and Max heard Alec cry out. Enough was enough. 

Punching the X5 holding her in the nose, she waded into the fray, landing blows with hands and feet. Alec spun free and was by her side. Even with one arm out of action he was good. Within 30 seconds everything was over. Dante was leaning heavily against the balcony railing, eyes glazed over, holding his broken elbow. His three man lay groaning on the metal landing floor. The female X5's, however, had never joined the fight. Instead they were standing to one side, smiling. 

"Ladies," Alec said, breathing hard but still taking note of their admiring glances in his direction. 

"Don't you ever stop?" Max muttered under her breath. 

"Never," Alec replied with a cocky grin. He looked at her. "Oh, thanks for helpin' me out there. Four on one are a bit much even for me. Not that I couldn't have taken 'em." 

"They were going to kill you," Max snapped. She looked at Alec and suddenly found herself uncomfortable. "And that's the _only_ reason I didn't let them beat your ass into the ground. I need you intact." 

Logan, who'd watched the whole thing from his seat by the computer terminal, was shaking his head. "Well, that went well," he said dryly. 

The X5's were leaving, headed down the stairs supporting their leader between them. One of the females paused on the landing to blow Alec a kiss, the look in her eyes promising more if he wanted to come and get it. 

Max rolled her eyes. Alec. Always Alec.Why did he have to complicate her life so much? "Guess we won't be getting any help from them after all," she said, bitterly. "Thanks to you." 

"Ah, let 'em go," Alec said, waving to the female as she reached the bottom of the steps. "I can round up enough X6's and 7's to get the job done, plus a few independent X5's. We'll manage." He was holding tightly to the balcony railing with his good hand, supporting himself. 

Joshua had come up the other set of steps and now stood behind them. "You're hurt again," he said to his friend. 

"What?" Max said, for the first time taking a really good look at Alec. "You're bleeding." She reached out and touched is t-shirt. 

"It's just a scratch," Alec said, referring to the knife graze on his stomach. 

"No," Max said. "Your shoulder. You've opened the wound up." 

Alec glanced down at the rapidly spreading crimson, and swayed slightly on his feet. The adrenalin was wearing off. 

"You need a medic," she said. 

"I'll be fine," Alec said, his words slurring as he putt a hand to his head. 

Joshua caught him in his arms as he went down. 

###


	3. Chapter 3

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 3  
Into the Darkness**

"If you'd quit picking fights with guys bigger than you maybe you'd have time to heal," Max said, rinsing out the suturing instruments she'd just used to sew Alec's shoulder back up. Unable to find a medic, yet knowing the bleeding had to be stopped, she'd done it herself. 

Alec couldn't hear her of course. He'd been out cold for over an hour. At first Max was glad. Putting in those new stitches had to be painful and Alec was always such a big baby about things like that. But now she was really starting to worry. 

"How much did he bleed two days ago?" she asked Joshua. 

Joshua shrugged. "Lots of blood after the fight with White's uber bitch, a bullet hole in his body, but he was all right next morning. You saw him." 

"Yeah, but he never got a transfusion did he?" 

"No transfusion. No one to donate. Everyone too scared and busy. Alec said he was fine anyway." 

"Alec always says he's fine," Max said grimly. She put a hand on his forehead, brushing strands of hair away from his closed eyes. She hoped it was her imagination that he felt too hot, even for an X5. 

"That wound might be infected," she said. "Come on Alec, kick those transgenic healing powers into action." 

"Alec might be too tired," Joshua said. "Hurt too many times." 

"Alec's indestructible," Max said. 

Joshua put a warm hand on her shoulder. "No, Little Fella. Alec only _pretends_ he's indestructible. Alec really very fragile. Both here," he pointed to Alec's heart, "and here." He pointed to his friend's head. "Easily hurt. But he hides it from everyone, even himself." 

"You're starting to sound like Yoda in 'Star Wars,'" Max said, her voice tinged with exasperation. "Alec's not that complicated. And he's an idiot. What was he thinking, taking on that gigantic goon?" 

"Alec was protecting his friend Max," Joshua said. 

"Well, he didn't need to. I can look out for myself. Besides, Logan was there with me." 

"Alec protecting Logan too. He knew Dante was bad news. Knew Dante would cause trouble." Joshua touched her hand. "Max, Alec was hurt you might want Dante instead of him to lead the missions." 

"Damn right I was hurt," Alec murmured with his eyes still closed. 

"How long have you been awake?" Max yelled. 

"Since your insightful Yoda comment," Alec replied, opening his eyes just a little bit. He looked over at the bloody bandages wadded up beside the cot. "Am I all fixed up now -- again?" 

Max stood and tossed down the cool cloth she'd been keeping on his forehead. "You'll live -- again. Just ... stay in one piece for a couple of days. By then they'll have that tunnel finished and you can go scout for a food source. The job's all yours." 

"Right," Alex murmured as his eyelids fluttered closed again. 

*****

The tunnel was indeed ready in two days, and so was Alec. In spite of Joshua's objections, he was dressed in cat burglar black and ready for action that evening, standing beside Max and Logan in the sewer as they waited for the diggers to give them the all clear sign. 

"How did you guys find this tunnel anyway?" Alec asked. "I thought the National Guard had everything locked up tight." 

"Logan discovered a really old map of the sewer system online," Max replied with a proud look at Logan. "It was stored in a batch of files no one else would ever have thought to look at." 

Alex sniffed loudly and made a face. "What's that awful smell? I mean, I know we're in a sewer but this place is putrid." 

"That's because of the chemicals that were stored in this pit," Max explained. 

"Chemicals?" Alec wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. He stepped closer to the edge and looked down to where the tunnel branched off to one side. 

"That's another reason no one knew about this exit," Logan said. "This pit was completely full of hazardous chemical waste. We had to drain it to reach the tunnel." 

"Just how ancient is this tunnel?" Alec asked, not wanting to think about which group of mutants had been given such a lovely job. 

"About a hundred years old," Logan said. "Which is why we've had the trench diggers shoring up the walls. It was already collapsed in two places, but we got through." 

"And it leads to the ocean?" 

"Our guys confirmed it this morning," Max said. "It comes out on the beach in South Bay, at the bottom of the cliff." 

"How long a trek is it?" 

"Two and a half miles," Max said. 

"Wow," Alec said. "That's a lot of shoring up to do. You sure it's safe?" He glanced at Max for reassurance. 

"No," she said honestly. "It could collapse. But our diggers have been in and out all day and it's held so far. I doubt one X5 walking lightly through will cause any problems. Besides, it's got to hold up. We're going to be using it to bring in supplies." 

"Hijack the grocery semis, bring 'em down to the beach just before the tide comes in, unload, get 'em outta there, and let the ocean cover our tracks," Alec said. "Not bad." 

"Logan thought of it," Max said, once again rewarding the older man with a big smile. 

"Of course," Alec said. "Because Logan always thinks of that kind of stuff. He's a regular miracle man." 

Joshua nudged him. "Shutting up now," Alec said before Max could tell him to. 

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Max asked. "We can't afford for you to pass out somewhere." 

"I'm fine," Alec said, gritting his teeth. "All healed." He looked at Joshua. "Just ask my nurse." 

"Alec almost okay," Joshua agreed. "Good enough for union work." 

Logan and Max stared. Alec laughed. 

"Expression I heard," Joshua explained sheepishly. 

Max smiled, finally getting the joke. 

_Well, she's happy with Logan and Dogboy tonight. Wonder if it'll ever be my turn?_

Alec shook off the thought and glanced down, checking over his gear. He was traveling light because tonight was supposed to be reconnaissance only. Gloves. Flashlight. Gun. Cell phone. Yep, he was ready. 

"Alec." Max took hold of his arm as he moved toward the pit. "Be careful. You're the first one to try and get out of here since we were surrounded. We don't know what they have waiting. And don't forget, White's out there too." 

"Oh, I'll never forget about old Ames," Alec said, his eyes narrowing. What had transpired in the rooms above Jam Pony five days ago was still almost surreal to him, but the expression on Ames White's face while they were taping him up was something he'd never forget. Only one other human had ever looked at him with such hatred -- a man who's daughter he'd killed. 

"Alec," Max said, holding him back. 

He looked at her. _What?_

"If you get caught--" 

"I won't get caught.". 

"But if you don't come back--" 

"Max," Alec said, lowering his voice so only she could hear. "If I don't come back, then I'm dead. I won't let them take me alive." 

He knew he had to say that to her because if he disappeared she'd want to pull her usual "Rescue Alec" routine, endangering her own life and the lives of everyone else in the process. 

"No rescues," he said firmly. "Although I know how much you value it, Max, my ass just isn't worth it this time." He flashed her a wicked smile. She looked up at him, her big brown eyes full of worry, her lips just inches from his. 

The moment held. Alec felt like he couldn't breathe. If only the others weren't watching ... 

"Ahem," Logan said behind them. 

They both jumped and Max quickly backed away as Alec reigned in his overactive imagination. 

"Remember," she said. "White probably wants you almost as much as he wants me." 

"Guess I should be flattered." 

"Just, be careful. And ... you better come back." 

Alec looked at her one last time, then turned and leaped down into the pit, a 25 foot drop. He landing lightly, crouched, and moved toward the tunnel opening where one of the diggers was checking a wooden shoring post. 

"Don't touch anything in there," the digger warned as Alec turned on his flashlight. "It's two point five clicks to the ocean. You'll hear it a long time before you get there. Just keep following the wall to the right. Tide's out so the beach will be dry until morning. You've got to get back before dawn though or part of the tunnel will be underwater and you'll have to wait for the next low tide. Be careful you don't slip either. The last half mile the floor's covered with silt from where the water comes in. Got it?" 

"Got it," Alec said. 

Max was still watching. He could feel her eyes on him. He made himself not look back as he walked into the darkness. 

###


	4. Chapter 4

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 4  
Old Friend/Old Enemy**

Two hundred feet into the tunnel Alec ran into his first obstacle -- literally. The diggers had put braces across the ceiling while shoring up the walls. Unfortunately, the little guys were a full foot shorter than an X5. Alec cracked his head hard enough to almost knock himself out. 

"Shit!" he yelled. "Ow!" Dropping the flashlight, he rubbed his forehead. A lump was already forming. _Max will probably think I've been in a bar fight._ Looking sheepishly back down the tunnel, he was glad he couldn't see any light. Hopefully no one had heard him yell. With a heavy sigh, he picked up the flashlight and set off again, this time keeping an eye on the ceiling as well as the walls. 

The further he went into the tunnel, the damper and mustier it got. He figured he was about halfway through when the footing changed, the ground becoming mud instead of stone. This must be how far the tide reached, he thought, making a mental note for the return trip. Another five minutes and he'd reached the end, the fresh sea air and roar of surf letting him know in advance that the beach was just ahead. Cautiously, he stepped out onto the sand, looking around to make certain no one was watching. The place was utterly deserted. So far, so good. 

He found a wide dirt bike track half a mile down the shore that wound up the cliff. It emerged on a narrow paved road with "Keep Out" and "Danger" signs posted on a flimsy wooden gate. This, in turn, led to the highway about three quarters of a mile away. The setting was almost too perfect. A skilled driver would be able to bring a semi down the trail directly onto the beach. With luck, they could unload the cargo and get a truck or two out within an hour's time. The rising tide at dawn would erase any sign of the activity, keeping the tunnel entrance secret. The semis would, of course, be found abandoned somewhere on the other side of the city. Or, if they absolutely had to, they could probably sink them in the sea. 

Satisfied, Alec turned his attention to the lights of Seattle beyond. He knew there was a truck stop just up the road. Another few minutes and he was carefully looking around the parking lot, picking out a suitable vehicle. A sleek black Harley caught his eye. Not as nice as Max's Ninja, but it would do. 

The big chain grocery warehouses were on the east side of town. Even though the hour was late, workers were busily loading and unloading large shipments of frozen food, canned goods, and fresh produce. Choosing a target wouldn't be difficult. With the right squad, he could easily hijack a couple of the trucks and be gone within minutes. The real trick would be buying enough time before the police were called, which meant restraining everyone on the premises and not setting off any alarms. With his natural night vision, he watched for several hours from the perimeter of a warehouse located on the edge of the industrial park -- counting heads, calculating shift changes, assessing the security. 

The job was definitely possible, Alec decided after observing the shift change at 4 a.m. No more than a dozen men were around at any one time. A squad of six ought to be able to handle securing the warehouse and hijacking two trucks. He looked at his watch and smiled. This reminded him of old times at Manticore, when he and his team would go out on reconnaissance missions, mapping territory, scouting the enemy, preparing for a strike. In a way, he felt more in his element tonight than he had since Manticore went down. This was what he'd been trained to do -- his job. The only difference was, this time he didn't have orders to kill anyone. 

Finished with his task, Alec was about ready to head back to the tunnel when he had an idea. It wasn't even five a.m. yet. He had a good hour left before the sun came up and the tide came in. Jam Pony was located in the next sector over, and he knew a way around the security checkpoint there. He could be in and out in half an hour. Maybe he could pay a visit to an old friend. 

*****

He watched from the shadows for almost a minute, surprised at the feeling of nostalgia. He'd taken this job by free choice, something Manticore had never allowed, and he'd honestly liked working here. He also owed this place big time because it's where he'd made his first real friends -- something else Manticore had never permitted. In a way, Jam Pony was the beginning of his life -- the beginning of "Alec" -- almost as much as Max was. 

Normal was going about his usual early morning tasks, getting packages and invoices ready for the early morning runs. Puttering behind the counter, he was humming a little tune, stopping occasionally to take a sip of coffee from the mug on his desk. 

Alec had come through one of the broken upstairs windows. Now, he stepped forward into the narrow pool of light that separated the rest of the office from darkness. 

"We're closed," Normal said without looking up from the orders he was sorting. "Come back in an hour." 

Amused, Alec glanced at the locked front door and cleared his throat. 

"I said we're--" Normal finally looked up. "Oh my God, it's you!" He hurriedly came around the counter, wiping his hands on his shirt. "It's really you!" 

Alec smiled and held his arms wide. "It's really me, boss. I'm back." 

"Oh, it really _is_ you!" Normal squealed, wrapping his arms around Alec and holding on as if wasn't ever going to let go. 

Alec endured the affectionate hug for as long as he could before finally taking hold of Normal's arms and gently prying the man off his torso. "How ya been, Normal?" he asked. 

"How have I been? How have _you_ been?" 

"I'm doin' all right," Alec said. 

"I thought you people were surrounded out there," Normal said. Then he grinned. "But of course they couldn't keep my Golden Boy down for long." 

"So, I'm still your Golden Boy?" Alec said. "Even though I'm--" 

"Genetically empowered?" Normal finished for him. He was still smiling. "Hey, I'm an educated man now. And after seeing that little baby ... well, let's just say I'm looking at things differently." 

Alec smiled slyly. "Now that wouldn't have anything to do with this book you're gonna write does it? It's been on the news.What were you gonna call it? 'I Delivered a Transgenic Baby?' I hear you're makin' the talk show rounds too." 

Normal actually blushed. "I'm merely letting people know the other side of the story," he stammered. "I'd never ... I don't mean to ..." 

"Normal, it's all right," Alec said gently. "I really just wanted to make sure you were okay. Have the Sector Police been botherin' you? And how's the elbow?" Alec cradled his own arm, the injured one, without thinking. 

"My elbow's fine and holly Jesus, I forgot," Normal said, the color draining from his face. "You were shot. Are you ...? 

"I'm all right," Alec said, flexing his left arm and shoulder so Normal could see. "One advantage of bein' a transgenic is that we heal real fast." 

"Are you sure you're okay?" Normal said, feeling the need to squeeze the muscle in Alec's biceps just to make sure. 

"Right as rain," Alec laughed, bending his arm so Normal could feel his strength through the lightweight material of his black shirt. 

"Are you leaving Seattle?" 

Alec chewed his lower lip a moment then said, "You're better off not knowin' what I'm gonna do, Normal. It's safer that way, for both of us." 

"Will I ever see you again?" 

Alec wasn't certain how to answer. He didn't want to lie to Normal, but he didn't want the man trying to find him either. "Probably not," he finally said. Normal's lower lip quivered. "But it's possible," he added quickly. 

"Do you need anything?" Normal asked, the tears held at bay for now. "Food? Medicine? Money?" He moved around the counter to the cash drawer and pulled out a stack of bills. 

Alec held up his hand. "Thanks," he said. "But I'm fine. It means a lot to me though, you offerin' to help." 

"They say your people are going to be arrested," Normal said. "But they don't know how soon. The government's trying to make up its mind who has jurisdiction, and where to put you afterwards." 

"I kinda imagine they won't put us anywhere, Normal," Alec said quietly. "They'll kill us -- if they can." 

Normal looked like he was going to cry again. 

"I've gotta go," Alec said, his own voice suddenly husky. 

"I know. Be careful. Be _real_ careful." 

"I will, buddy," Alec said. And then Alec did something he'd rarely done in his life. He threw his arms around Normal and hugged him tightly. 

*****

"Sir," Otto said. "Sir, I think we've got something." 

Ames White moved to the video monitor. On the screen were two men talking. One was Reagan Ronald, manager of Jam Pony Messenger Service. The other, dressed all in black, was-- 

"494." White snarled rather than spoke the word. 

"Guess those hidden cameras paid off after all, sir," Otto said. "You thought one of them might try to contact Ronald and you were right." 

"I'm always right," White said, his lips drawn into a thin bitter line. "Get the men together. "It may not be 452, but this piece of transgenic filth is the next best thing. Once we've got him, we've got her." He looked at the monitor for another moment, savoring what was about to happen. Then he took out his gun and checked the cartridges, spinning the chamber. "This time 494, the explosion in your head is gonna put you down for good." 

###


	5. Chapter 5

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 5  
Worried Sick**

Logan had told her to get some rest, but sleep was the last thing Max felt like doing right now. She checked the time. Alec would probably be gone at least 10 hours, maybe more, and she wasn't going to be able to relax until he returned. 

_If I don't come back, then I'm dead. I won't let them take me alive._

She wandered around the compound for awhile, looking in on some of the various projects the mutants were working on -- better computer connections, a couple of generators to help with power, fixing up the few vehicles they had ... 

She found herself near the dark and deserted food distribution center, and was rather surprised to see someone else there at this time of night as well. 

"Hey, OC," Max said. "Come down her to get formula for the baby?" 

Original Cindy made a wry face. "I swear Boo, that young'un and her transgenic lungs are enough to turn a saint into a sinner." 

"She cries a lot?" 

"You talkin' about me, Gem, or the baby?" OC laughed. "All of us are up tonight. Poor child's got colic. I came down here for some quiet." 

"Mind some company?". 

"Pull up a chair." OC indicated an empty packing crate beside her. 

Max sat cross legged on the box and leaned back against the girder behind her. 

"You look like somethin' the cat dragged in," OC commented. 

Max self consciously pulled fingers through her long tangled hair. "I haven't had time to get cleaned up in awhile." 

"You oughta come down to Oak Street, use Gem's apartment as a place to get away from all this." OC indicated the command center around them. "We could probably even come up with enough hot water so you could take a bath." 

"A bath," Max said wistfully. "That would feel so good." 

"Where are you and Logan stayin'?" 

"Logan's got a room one block over," Max said. "I haven't really picked a place yet. I've been taking naps on this old couch Mole scrounged up." 

OC was shaking her head. "And Joshua?" she asked. 

"Over on Pine Street. He's happy as a clam." 

"And your boy?" 

"He's _not_ my boy," Max said firmly. Then she shrugged. "I don't know where he's staying. Probably shacked up with some female X5. Or else he's still with Joshua." 

"You don't care where Alec roosts?". 

"Don't care a bit." 

"Where is he now? I haven't seen him around since that first day." 

"Alec was hurt pretty bad," Max said. "He took it easy until a day or so ago, but now he's outside scouting for a supply source." 

OC's eyebrows went up. "That boy's out there all by himself? Without you backin' him up? Sugar, you know how much trouble he gets his ass into. And you let him go out alone?" 

Max wriggled on the box, suddenly uncomfortable. "Alec can take care of himself. He's trained all his life for missions like this. He'll be fine." 

"He'll be gone all night?" 

Max nodded. 

"And so you're just sittin' here worryin' 'bout him?" 

Max knew she couldn't fool OC. Again she nodded. 

OC let out an exasperated breath. "Boo, you got serious issues about our boy." 

"No I don't," Max said defensively. "It's just ... Alec's a friend, just like Joshua. I'm allowed to worry about my friends. White could be waiting out there. And if he's caught ..." 

OC crossed her arms looking like a stern older sister. "If he's caught you'll go rescue his ass just like you always do." 

Max looked up, her eyes wide with worry. "No. That's just it. I _can't_ go after him. He made me promise. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to everyone else in here, risking myself, their so-called leader, for one man." 

OC relented. "He'll be all right, Boo. This time tomorrow you'll be bustin' his ass about the next stupid thing he's gonna do." 

"I hope so," Max said morosely. 

"'Sides," OC added. "Alec's gotta come back so he can take care of you next week." 

"Next week?" Max didn't know what she was talking about. 

"It's that time again. Don't you remember?" 

"What time?" Max asked. And then suddenly she did remember. "Oh God," she breathed. "I forgot." 

"You forgot it was your cycle time?" OC said. "Girl, you're gonna hafta make serious plans in a hurry. There's nowhere in Terminal City where you can hide away like you did back at our place. No nice locked bathroom with cold runnin' water. No convenient stranger to have a one-night stand with." 

"Stop!" Max said. "I haven't had a one-night stand since ... since before Manticore went down. You know I've been careful." 

"Know is right, sugar. I'm the one who locked you in that bathroom for a couple of days every few months this past year so you wouldn't go killin' Logan or really makin' Alec's day." 

"What am I going to do?" Max asked. "Logan would die if he knew the things I've done. I've got to find someplace to stay in here, someplace away from everyone." 

"Ain't no such animal, Boo," OC said, shaking her head sadly. "Even the sewers are crawlin' with transgenics." 

"I know what I'll do," Max said. "I'll go down to Oak Street and ask one of the female X5's to take me in. They'll protect me." 

OC looked at her askance. "Uh-huh. Sure they'll protect you. Max, those X5 males down on Oak Street have a mean reputation. Especially that Dante fella I heard you were talkin' to 'til Alec decided you were done. They aren't gonna let you be in heat down there without sniffin' around." 

"Then how do the other X5 females manage?" Max asked. "They must be cycling too. We've been off the birth control drugs ever since we escaped. How do they keep the males away?" 

OC looked at her sadly. "They don't keep 'em away, Boo. They pair off. Get a big male as a protector for a few days and the two of them go at it 'til the heat's off. You wouldn't believe how many of those girls are knocked up. What I'm thinkin' is that you better be pickin' an X5 male yourself -- one who can protect you when you're vulnerable like that. Else you're gonna find yourself carryin' a little X6 baby in your belly with a total stranger for a daddy. You know you won't be able to stay away from down there. You know you'll end up naked with maybe that Dante dude." 

Max shuddered, feeling sick at the very idea of Dante touching her. "That's disgusting," she said. 

"No more disgusting than you trawlin' bars for a piece of meat a year or two ago." 

"I'd never let that happen again," Max said. "And if you're trying to scare me into asking Alec to watch over me, then you might as well give up because that'll never happen either. I already turned him down as a mate once already. He hardly means anything to me. We're barely friends. I don't find him attractive at all." 

"'Course you don't," OC said with a sly grin. "Anyone can see he's one of the ugliest things Manticore ever made." 

Max said nothing. 

"But you gotta ask yourself somethin' girl, and you gotta give yourself an honest answer." 

"What?" Max said sullenly. 

"You gotta ask yourself why in the hell you're sittin' down here all alone in the dark worryin' yourself sick about Alec instead of spendin' the evening with the man you say you love. You gotta ask yourself why all you can think about is that boy when Logan's supposed to be the only one you care that much about." 

"Logan _is_ the only I care about," Max whispered, but the words didn't sound convincing even to herself. 

OC merely shook her head sadly. 

###


	6. Chapter 6

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 6  
Run**

Alec knew he was in trouble the moment he dropped from the second floor window into the alley behind Jam Pony. He could feel the presence of others around him, confirmed when his keen hearing picked up the sound of a soft footstep, the faint click of metal, deep breathing. 

Familiars. Sector cops weren't this stealthy. 

He ducked behind a stone pillar, melting into the darkness.White had apparently been watching Jam Pony on the off chance he or Max would be stupid enough to come back. Well, Alec thought, Ames was right about that. One of them _had_ been stupid enough to come back. 

Alec scanned the alley, his vision zooming in on the black Harley parked behind a dumpster down at the other end. Touching the Glock 35 tucked in his belt, he weighed the odds. White and his men would undoubtedly have much heavier firepower. He sensed at least six in the shadows. If he tried going back in the building they'd follow and kill Normal. The bike was impossibly out of reach. 

There was no way he was getting out of this alley alive. 

Alec was scared. Sweat made the gun handle slippery in his hand as he checked the clip. White wasn't going to wait much longer. They had to know he was pinned. The only thing they were waiting for was to see if he had backup -- if Max was going to show up too. 

Thank whatever god there was he'd made her promise to let him go if something happened. At least she was safe. His stupidity hadn't killed her too. 

*****

"Sir," Otto said. "He's trapped, sir." 

"Good," White said, watching the action below from the rooftop of a nearby building. 

"He's back behind that column, the one on the far right. Our men have the alley blocked at both ends and we're ready to send more down from above." 

"Remember, I want him alive if possible," White said. "He's no good as bait for 452 if he's dead." 

"That might be difficult, sir," Otto said. "You know how viciously they fight when cornered." 

White clenched his jaw and a vein throbbed visibly in his temple. "Just don't let 494 get away this time," he said. "If he runs, if he's escaping, take him down. I'd prefer to do the honors personally, blow a hole in his head in front of 452, but I will _not_ allow that piece of shit get away a third time." 

"Sir," a new voice spoke behind him. 

"What is it?" 

One of the purebred females stepped forward. "Sir, I'd like a chance to finish my job. This transgenic should have been my kill." 

"You already had your chance, Lieutenant," White said. "And you failed." 

"I was blind sided, sir. Just as I was about to kill this filth an ordinary interfered." 

"An ordinary kicked your butt," White said with a mirthless smile. "As no doubt 494 would have also if he hadn't already had a bullet in him." He turned on the woman. "Tell me again, Lieutenant. Exactly how 494, handicapped as he was, managed to get away from you?" 

"I have no excuses, sir. I only ask for a chance to redeem myself by bringing you the transgenic." 

White regarded her for a long moment, then nodded. "Very well. Since you've been put under my command, I might as well make use of you." He gestured below. "Bring me the animal, alive or dead, and we'll consider your honor restored." 

"Yes, sir," she said. Then she turned and stepped off the edge of the building to land lightly on her feet below. 

*****

Alec sniffed the air, recognized the scent, and his heart began beating faster. White's uber bitch was in the alley, the one who'd been about to bash his head in before Logan intervened. She was back to finish the job. Time was up. 

Taking a deep breath, Alec stepped away from the wall, his hands held in the air. "You want another go at me, bitch!" he taunted. "Well, here I am! Come and get me!" 

He tensed, expecting to feel the impact of bullets hitting his body. Instead, the Familiar female emerged from behind a garbage bin, no weapon in sight. 

"You're mine," she growled and charged. 

Alec remembered how she moved and blocked her first two blows. The third, a kick to his stomach, pushed him backwards. He landed hard on his back, but arched and was on his feet again in an instant. White's men had apparently been ordered to not interfere. Just what he was counting on. 

A whirling kick to the head stopped the bitch's onslaught for a brief moment, long enough for Alec to catch sight of the Harley. He was almost close enough. Her return blow caught his bad shoulder, and for a second Alec thought he was going to go down with the pain. As sparks exploded behind his eyes, he was tempted to pull out his gun, finish her once and for all. But that would mean his instant death as well. Instead, he did the only thing that gave him any chance at all. 

Spinning out of her reach, he turned and ran, blurring for the bike. From above somewhere he heard White screaming "Shoot him! Shoot him!" He vaulted onto the Harley and touched the ignition wires. An automatic rifle opened fire, but the garbage bin gave him some cover. Still, one bullet tore through the material of his jacket, another ricocheted off the Harley's fender, and several more cut a pattern in the ground. The engine roared to life and tires screeched on the pavement as he cut out of the alley headed for ... where? 

Alec realized that it wasn't just his night vision letting him see so well. The sun was rising. And dawn meant the tide was coming in. He couldn't go back to the beach. The tunnel wouldn't be there. And he doubted he could survive all day in Seattle with White on his tail. Soon the Sector Police would be notified, shutting down all the checkpoints and ways out of the city. They'd have their thermal scans in full use, scouring the crowds looking for him. 

Behind came the scream of another motorcycle. Alec looked back. White's uber bitch was on his trail again, chasing after him on a machine that made his Harley look like a toy. Off to one side three more Familiars on bikes were closing in. Alec pulled out his pistol, tossed off several shots, and gunned the engine, flying down the deserted highway, headed for the only place he could think of. 

*****

"I don't believe this," Max said, her eyes wide as she stared at Station 9's early morning news. Logan was watching too, his brow creased with concern. A small crowd of other transgenics were gathering around a tv set on the lower level, their worried voices a dull murmur in Max's ears. 

"Sector Police, the National Guard, and a team of government special agents are all in pursuit of the renegade transgenic, apparently the first of its kind to escape the siege at Terminal City," the announcer said. 

The camera was obviously in a helicopter. The panning shot showed a lone motorcyclist rocketing across a field pursued by at least four military types on larger bikes. Sector police cars were closing in from ahead, sirens screeching, while a National Guard helicopter hovered dangerously close to the news chopper, a uniformed man on board waving the station's crew to back away. 

"What is he thinking?" Max practically wailed. 

"He's not thinking," Logan said. "That's the problem. He never does. He just does something stupid." 

Max turned to Dix, a mutant who's speciality had turned out to be computer systems. "He can't come through the tunnel, can he? The tide's in." 

Dix was shaking his head sadly. "Alec's screwed. Even if he reaches the beach that tunnel's half full of water until tonight." 

Max turned back to the television. "He wouldn't lead them to us anyway," she said. She watched Alec's Harley swerving as he tore through the uneven terrain. They were shooting at him. She wanted to close her eyes. 

"He's going to be trapped against the cliff edge," Logan said. "He hasn't left himself anywhere to go." 

"Alec knows what he's doing," Max said. Unfortunately, she knew what he was doing too. 

"He's going to get caught," Logan said. 

"No," Max said. "He's going to die." 

*****

"I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die," Alec chanted over and over to himself as he gunned the Harley toward the edge of the cliff, leaning low and forward to avoid the occasional bullet still coming his way. The tide had been rushing in for an hour. The rock face was three hundred feet high at this point. If he could get enough speed, make the bike's trajectory work for him, he might ... just might land in water deep enough to survive. 

If not .. well, at least White could get his jollies picking up his broken transgenic body off the rocks below. 

The edge was fast approaching. Alec leaned lower, opened the bike's throttle wide -- and screamed at the top of his lungs as he soared into the air. 

Behind, White's four Familiars braked their bikes, skidding in the dirt. Three stopped just short of the cliff face, but the fourth tumbled over the edge, his scream joining Alec's in the still morning air. 

*****

There was utter silence in Terminal City Central. 

"Jesus, he really did it," Luke breathed. Then he grinned. "Alec's sure got balls." 

"Alec's an idiot," Max said bitterly, tears streaming down her face. 

"A dead idiot," Logan added quietly. "There's no way he could have survived that kind of fall." 

Joshua had come up behind them and was looking mournfully at the television screen. The news camera was panning the ocean while police and National Guard rappelled down the cliff face. A body dressed in black could be clearly seen floating face down in the water. 

"Alec?" Joshua whimpered. 

Max reached out and touched him. Joshua howled and enveloped her in his arms. 

Logan, staring at the body on the television screen, said nothing. 

###


	7. Chapter 7

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 7  
Love You/Hate You**

Alec knew he had to get away from the bike or else he'd be pinned beneath it when he hit the water. He waited until the machine was at its highest point, then pushed up and away, spreading his arms as if skydiving, slowing his own speed to allow the motorcycle time to fall away. Then he put both arms above his head, assumed a perfect dive position, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. 

The impact of the cold water was brutal, almost knocking him out. But water was all he hit. He'd been right. The tide was high enough. He hadn't broken his neck on the bottom. 

His belly skimmed the sand and he leveled off, opening his eyes and looking around as he tread water beneath the surface. The Harley lay on it side to his right a few feet away, a little too close for comfort. Getting his bearings, Alec began to swim. The tunnel was about four miles to the south. 

He surfaced several times to look around and always spotted men at the top of the cliff using binoculars. Boats were appearing on the water as well, an all out search underway. 

It seemed to take forever to reach the South Beach. Alec had forgotten how much he disliked the water. Probably his feline DNA, he figured. Afterall, cats could swim, but they usually didn't like to. At least he could hold his breath for four minutes at a time, lessening the chance of being spotted on the surface. 

He felt the tug of the current before he saw the tunnel opening. It was completely flooded, and Alec tried to remember exactly how far in the floor had been wet. At least a mile, he recalled. Which meant he probably would have to swim a half mile without being able to come up for air. He surfaced and looked around. A Sector Patrol boat was cruising just a short distance away. White's men had to be nearby as well. 

Alec took several deep breaths, went under, and swam the 50 yards to shore. Just in front of the tunnel, he surfaced again, filled his lungs with air for what could very be the last time, and dove into the darkness. 

*****

"They've only found one body," Logan said. He'd been monitoring the newscast while Max comforted Joshua. "They haven't said if it's White's man or Alec." 

"Maybe Alec's still alive," Joshua said. 

"Don't get your hopes up, Big Fella," Max said, stroking Joshua's long hair. 

"I'm going down to the tunnel just in case," Luke said, getting up from where he'd been watching the news. "If Alec made it, he'll try and get back in." Luke was a young transhuman who'd been designed to dig trenches. His eagerness to help and pleasant personality had made him one of Max's most useful helpers. He also really liked Alec. 

"He'd drown, wouldn't he?" Max said. "The tunnel's underwater now." 

Luke shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. How long can you X5's hold your breath?" 

"Four, maybe five minutes," Max said. 

Luke did some calculations in his head. "It would be close. Depends on how fast he could swim, whether he's hurt again or not." 

"Go down and check, Luke," Logan said. Luke looked at Max who nodded. 

*****

An hour dragged by, then another. According to the news, the search was widening. They said the other body had probably been pulled out to sea. 

Noon arrived. "He's gone," Max said to Joshua, giving up all hope at last. "It's been too long." 

"Maybe Alec's hiding, waiting for night to come through the tunnel." 

Max looked at the television. "They're doing a real thorough search of the shoreline. I don't see how he could hide anywhere--" 

"Max." 

Max felt as if an electric current had just shot through her body. She turned around, almost afraid to look. He was standing at the bottom of the steps, dripping wet, but apparently in one piece. 

She walked down to him slowly. Everyone in the room was watching. Alec swallowed hard. "I'm okay, but--" 

The slap was brutal, an open-handed blow to his face delivered with every ounce of her transgenic strength. 

Alec spit blood and backed away, shaking his head, a look of confusion in his wide green eyes. "What the hell was that for?" 

"You son of a bitch," she hissed. She raised her hand again, this time making a fist. 

Alec's arm came up, instinctively prepared to block. "Whoa, Max," he said. "I know you're mad but--" 

"Get out of my sight," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "Get out. I don't ever want to see you again." 

"Max ..." 

Joshua stepped forward and put a hand on Alec's shoulder. "Alec," he said. "Come with me." 

Alec looked around, suddenly acutely aware that everyone was staring at him. Without another word he turned and walked away. 

*****

"Alec, you need to get into dry clothes." 

Alec looked first at Joshua, then at the half empty bottle of Scotch in his hand. "No I don't," he said. "I'm feelin' just fine." He was sitting slouched in an old arm chair in the apartment he shared with Joshua, one foot dangling over the armrest, his shoes dripping sea water on the floor. 

"Max didn't mean it." 

Alec laughed bitterly. "Max always means what she says. That's one good thing about her. She's straightforward. When she hates you she lets you know." Alec touched his cheek. The red welt was already turning into a bruise. Another swig of Scotch and he told himself he didn't care. Too bad that, in spite of his banishment, he'd still have to talk to her one more time. There remained the small matter of a debriefing about the mission. Then he remembered something else. 

"Hey Sketchy," he said. 

Sketchy looked up from the notes he was always taking. 

"You been watchin' the news all day?" 

"Sure have." 

"Any mention of Jam Pony or Normal?" 

Sketchy's eyebrows rose in surprise. "No. Why would there be?" 

"'Cause that's where White's guys caught up with me." 

"At Jam Pony? What were you doin' there, Alec?" 

"Sayin' goodbye to an old friend, Sketch. Just sayin' goodbye to an old friend." 

Joshua growled low in his throat, not pleased with Alec at this moment either. "If Max finds out ..." 

"She'll take my head off," Alec said. "I know. I have no intention of tellin' her. It's just that I wanna make sure Normal's all right." 

"You think White will go after Normal?" Sketchy said. 

"Not really. I figure White's got Jam Pony wired so he'll know if one of us goes back there like I did last night. Normal's no threat to him, and if White kills him the trap's no good anymore." 

"So, you think old Normal's safe?" 

"As a babe in its mother's arms, my man," Alec said, taking another long swig of the warm liquor, enjoying the burn in his throat. 

"Alec," Joshua said. "You've had enough." 

"I'm a transgenic, Joshua. I can never get enough. And ya see, that's the problem." He regarded Joshua over the top of the bottle, his green eyes just a little bit crossed. "I can't get drunk. No matter how hard I try, all I ever get is a teensy tiny buzz. And sometimes I wanna get drunk really really bad." 

"Your metabolism is too high," Sketchy said. "At least according to some of the scientists they've been interviewing. Your high body temperature means you burn up the liquor faster than you can drink it." 

"Well, let's just test that theory, shall we?" Alec said, finishing off the bottle with another big drink and reaching for a second bottle that was on the floor beside the chair. 

"Alec," Joshua warned. 

"Don't worry, Joshua. Like Sketch says, I can't get drunk. Wish I could. Wish I could die drunk for that matter. What a pleasant way to go. But I can't. Can't do anything right, either. 'Least not accordin' to Max. I'm a screw-up. A stupid son of a bitch. She hates me and probably with good reason. Hell, she should've killed me herself a long time ago when she had the chance." 

"Alec!" Joshua said sharply. "Stop." 

"Stopping now," Alec said quietly as he took a drink from the second bottle of Scotch. 

*****

He half expected her to call him 494 as she faced him across the conference table the next morning with those hostile eyes. But she didn't. She didn't call him anything. 

"Report," she said, her voice emotionless. 

"Mission successful ... Sir." 

Max glared at him. Alec glared back. Logan buried his face in his hands and sighed. 

###


	8. Chapter 8

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 8  
I Can't**

The mission went off flawlessly. Alec led a team of five men out through the tunnel at midnight. He hadn't even bothered asking Dante's group for volunteers, instead picking four X6's and an X5 named Mario whom he'd worked with back at Manticore. They crept up on the warehouse Alec had surveyed the night before, waited for the 4 a.m. shift change, caught the workers totally by surprise, and hijacked two trucks full of non-perishable food. Alec and Mario drove the trucks, donning the drivers' uniforms and using their sector passes to get through the checkpoints. The trip down the dirt track to the beach was actually the hardest part of the whole adventure, Mario's truck providing a few moments of panic when the wheels got stuck in the sand just off the paved road. But they were able to drop the big rig into a lower gear and free the tires. 

The rest of Terminal City was waiting for them in the tunnel, forming a living conveyor belt that moved the crates of food from the beach to the sewers under their refuge. 

The tide was sloshing over Alec's shoes by the time the last crate came off the second semi, and pre-dawn light glowed on the horizon. Max had been coordinating things, dashing up and down the line of mutants, making certain everyone was doing his or her task. Alec found himself watching her as he helped unload the second semi. She was doing a good job, making decisions, encouraging the workers, calming their fears. Logan was, of course, seated nearby, offering his advice. 

She's never once even looked my way, Alec thought. He wondered how long she was going to go on punishing him, ignoring him ... At least he'd done a decent job for her tonight. 

With a weary groan, Alec tossed the last box of canned peas to Mole. "This ought to be enough for a few weeks," he said. "Provided nobody gets greedy." He made a wry face. "Wish it could have been pizza though. But there was no way we could store frozen food." He had a thought. "Hey, now that we have the tunnel, I can get take-out." 

"You were pretty good tonight," Mole said. He pointed his chin toward a group of X5's who were standing near the tunnel entrance. "But apparently Dante's crew went out on a little expedition as well." 

"What are you talkin' about?" Alec said, turning around to look. 

"See the stuff they've got." 

Alec's vision zoomed in on the crates scattered around Dante and his posse. It looked as if they'd held up a liquor store, or two, or three. Cases of bourbon, scotch, wine, and beer were piled around them. Some had already been opened and the men were swigging from bottles. 

Alec frowned. "I just hope the idiots didn't kill anyone. And Max is gonna be pissed as hell if she finds out. A big part of tonight was layin' low so White doesn't snoop around too much and find our exit to the outside world." 

"Dante's gonna make a fortune sellin' that stuff in here," Mole said wistfully. "I wonder if he nabbed any cigars?" 

*****

When the trucks had been cleaned out, Alec and Mario drove the rigs away to be ditched. Fully loaded, they'd never have been able to get them back up the cliff track, but empty they were light enough to make it up the steep grade. They left the semis in an abandoned shopping center parking lot on the opposite side of Seattle. Stealing a car and getting back to South Beach was the easiest part of the mission. They'd kept the drivers' passes and the checkpoints were no problem. Still, they'd cut it close. They got back to the tunnel just as the sun peeked over the horizon, but only had to swim a short distance before emerging wet and exhausted to be greeted as Terminal City's newest heroes by a crowd of very grateful mutants. 

As soon as he'd changed into dry clothes, Alec went searching for Max, needing to see approval and forgiveness in her eyes. He'd redeemed himself hadn't he? 

But she was holding gloved hands with Logan on the balcony in the command center, accepting adulation from her people, and didn't notice him standing all by himself to one side. 

"We go celebrate?" Joshua said, coming up behind him. "Lots of food now. Even macaroni with little, little hotdogs." 

"You bet I'm gonna celebrate," Alec said quietly. He'd spotted one of the X5 females who'd been with Dante in the crowd earlier. She'd blown him a kiss, but the look in her eyes promised things a lot more interesting. He knew she was still staring at him. Turning his back on Max, Alec smiled his most charming smile, and made his way through the crowd to her side. 

*****

Alec had come through for her. In spite of all of Logan's misgivings, in spite of all his past screw-ups, Alec had done a superb job. 

And Max had to admit she wasn't that surprised. Alec was, after all, finally back in his true element, doing what he'd been bred and born for ... trained for all his life. He was a soldier, first and always. An X5 alpha male with all the genetic enhancements that implied. Looks, brains, and attitude, she thought wryly. Most of all attitude ... 

Alec finally had a purpose in life. 

"I should forgive him," Max said softly. 

Things had finally quieted down. The food rationing was going smoothly, and the evening news had reported the stolen trucks only as a small item buried deep in the other events of the day. A series of vicious liquor store robberies was the top story, overshadowing everything else -- three clerks brutally murdered and numerous cases of booze, as well as cash, stolen by unknown persons. 

She'd retreated to the command center to get some peace and quiet. Only Logan was with her now, the others either eating or bedding down for the night. 

"You talking about Alec?" Logan said. He looked up from the inventory sheets he'd been scanning, adjusting his reading glasses on his nose. "He did an okay job today, but you're still going to have to keep him on a tight leash." 

Max sighed. "I suppose so. Or else he'll get in trouble one way or the other." 

"Are you going to tell him?" 

"Tell him what?" 

"That you think he did a good job." 

Max hesitated. Logan noticed. "What is it, Max?" he said. 

"I ... I don't want to talk to Alec unless I have to." 

"Because you're still mad about his reconnaissance mission?" 

"It's more than that," she said. "I just ... I just don't want to be around him right now." 

Logan looked puzzled, but Max knew he'd never object to her wanting to spend _less_ time with Alec. What he didn't know was the real reason why. 

*****

Max woke up three hours later and knew she was in serious trouble. OC had warned her to prepare, told her she shouldn't be caught by herself without someone to protect her, without a safe shelter where she could hide away for two or three days. 

But she'd been too busy ... hadn't wanted to think about it. And now it was too late. 

Max could literally feel the hormones surging in her bloodstream, her body temperature soaring. She sat up on the couch, frantically looked around for Logan, and was relieved to find him gone. He'd probably gone back to his own place to sleep. No one else was around either, the command center empty in the middle of the night. Usually Dix or Luke kept watch over the monitors. But their chairs were empty. However, one of them might come back at any moment. 

Max started to panic. She couldn't be around anyone male right now. Not Dix or Luke, not Joshua, not Mole. She might ... 

_What am I going to do?_

She considered the tunnel. The tide was out now. She could run, hide in the city somewhere until it was over then come back. But the thought of sleeping with strangers sickened her, and that was exactly what would happen. She'd go to a bar, pick up some guy, screw him for two days. Afterwards, if White didn't get her, she'd return and have to act as if nothing had happened. 

She couldn't do that to herself ... to Logan ... to Alec ... 

To Alec? Where the hell had that come from? Why would she care what Alec thought? Besides, she'd told him to go away forever. She'd told him that and he'd just looked at her, those incredible eyes flashing for just an instant with pain before filling with cynicism. She'd meant to hurt him and she had. And now he probably hated her. They weren't even friends any more. 

"Max." 

She closed her eyes. _I ought to put a bell around his damn neck._ She knew she didn't dare turn around. 

"Max, are you all right?" 

"Get out of here, Alec." 

"Not until I'm sure you're all right." 

"If you touch me I'll kill you." 

"I believe you." 

She could hear him breathing behind her. The sound was making her shiver. 

"Max, come with me." 

"No." She gripped the arm of the couch. 

"You can't stay here. You can't go to Logan. There's no place to hide." 

He was moving closer to her. She could feel his warmth, his male scent filling her senses. If he touched her _he_ wasn't going to die. She was. 

"Alec," she breathed. "I can't." 

And then she ran. 

###


	9. Chapter 9

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 9  
Promise**

Out of the corner of her eye Max saw Alec leap over the couch in pursuit as she hit the door to the street. She didn't know if she could outrun him, but she had to try. Not knowing where to go, she blindly headed down the main street of Terminal City until she came to an alley. Ducking in, she plastered herself against a corrugated metal wall and waited. 

His footsteps pounded on the wet pavement, then suddenly stopped. Oh shit, she thought. Of course he'd be able to smell her. She pushed off from the wall and tore down the alley, coming out onto an abandoned loading dock. On the other side were the genetic labs she and Alec had explored together a few weeks earlier. Running as fast as she could between two of the brick buildings, she came out onto a street filled with mutants, most of them X series. 

"Oh no," Max said out loud, glancing up at a worn sign post. Oak Street was the last place she should be. Already some of the X4's and X5's were looking at her strangely, wondering why their leader was rushing around like a crazy woman. 

"I'm just in a hurry," Max said as she pushed her way through the crowd. "Sorry. Excuse me." She sensed Alec was still close, but hoped she could lose him by mingling with the others, disguising her scent and throwing him off her trail. She rounded another corner, glanced behind her, turned back, and suddenly found her way blocked by a very broad chest. 

Max looked up -- way up, into a pair of glittering evil eyes. 

"452," Dante said. "Imagine running into you down here." He sniffed. "And at such a pleasant time." He grabbed her by the arms and Max lashed out with one foot, kicking him painfully in the knee. 

Dante didn't even wince, just hardened his grip. Max wriggled, but to her horror realized she wasn't really trying to fight him that much. 

"Come on little Maxie," Dante rumbled in her ear, his voice hoarse with desire. "You came to the right place for what you need. I've already got three bitches breedin'. You're not gonna be able to walk when I'm done with you. Guaranteed." 

Max pulled feebly against his grip, but when he leaned down and took her mouth with his she stopped struggling. 

_Oh God, somebody please help me!_

Dante had his hand under her shirt now ... Max still didn't fight. Instead her own hands were roaming to the waistband of his jeans and lower. 

"My place is up here," Dante whispered hoarsely, indicating the building behind them. He licked the side of her face, then took hold of her shaking hand and began leading her up the flight of stairs. 

"Let her go!" 

Max turned in Dante's grip. Alec stood just below them. The gun in his hand was his favorite, a modified glock 35 given to him by Mole. 

"If it isn't the fuck up," Dante laughed, pulling her in front of him as a shield. "Too yellow to fight fair, 494? Even when it's your woman bein' stolen? 'Course it seems to me 452 here has already made her choice." 

He leaned down and took her lips again, his fingers caressing her throat. Max, to her utter humiliation, kissed him back. "Max!" Alec shouted. "Do you want him? Or do you want me?" 

Alec's voice was low, primal, more savage than Max had ever heard. He was breathing hard, his black t-shirt plastered against his chest with sweat, his pupils dilated, his eyes feline. The gun in his hand didn't waver as he waited for her answer. 

She wanted to cry out for Logan, but the words were so wrong they wouldn't form on her tongue. 

Only one word felt right. The only word that could save her now. "Alec!" she screamed. And then suddenly Dante's huge hand was no longer caressing her neck but crushing it instead. 

The sound of the gun was sharp and abrupt in the narrow street. Max felt Dante jerk and his grip on her went slack. When she looked up he was staring at Alec, his eyes wide with disbelief, a bullet hole dead center in the middle of his forehead. Even as she watched, those eyes glazed over, and he fell to the ground. 

A crowd was forming. Alec leaped up the steps and grabbed her wrist in a grip of steel. "You killed him," Max breathed, rubbing her bruised neck with her free hand. 

Alec was smiling, but his eyes were as cold as Dante's had been. "501 forgot somethin' about me," he said. 

"What?" 

"That even though I may be a fuck up, I'm still an assassin. And assassins _never_ fight fair." Alec then tucked the gun into the back of his jeans beneath his jacket and led her away. No one tried to stop them. 

*****

He took her to an empty apartment in the same building as Joshua's, a place he'd been fixing up for himself. There wasn't much in the way of furniture -- a bed, a wooden chair, some boxes. He hadn't had time to scavenge for anything else yet. There was a bathroom, not that it did any good -- no running water. He was waiting for Dix to tap him into a water line. 

The moment Alec closed the door she was all over him, her lips devouring his, her small lithe body pressing close, her hands wandering. He wanted her so badly it was driving him insane. She made him forget all about Logan, and the transgenic cause. She even made him forget about himself. He didn't care what was going to happen tomorrow, or the next hour, or the next minute. All he knew was that he wanted Max more than he'd ever wanted anything in his entire life. 

But he also knew that this wasn't real. Oh, they could have sex -- passionate, unforgettable sex. However, when it was over, when her heat had passed in a day or two, there wouldn't be anything left but a hollow place in his heart and hatred in hers. Max didn't love him. Hell, she didn't even like him. He was nothing more to her than a piece of male meat for her to ride until her time was over -- nothing more to her than Dante would have been. 

And that bitter realization was what gave Alec the strength to push her away. "No," he said firmly, holding her wrists. 

"Alec," she said, her brown eyes desperate. "Alec, please." 

"Max, you don't love me. You don't want to be with me." 

"I don't have to love you to want you," she pleaded. "You sleep with women all the time that you don't give a damn about." 

"Not women I really care about, or who care about me. I wouldn't do that to someone, and I don't think you want to either." 

Max looked confused. "You're saying that you're in love with me?" 

Alec swallowed hard. "I'm saying I want to make love to you, Max. Not just have a one night stand. I want more than you can give." 

"I'll give you anything you want. I can be anyone you want." 

"I'm sorry, Max," he whispered, hating the desperation in her eyes. He was so, so tempted ... While they talked, he'd been easing her toward the bed. Now, he gave her a hard push. She fell backwards, he blurred, and had the handcuff around her wrist. The other end he secured to the bed's heavy brass frame. 

Max tugged frantically at her shackles, then looked at him with frightened eyes. "What are you doing, Alec?" 

"Aren't you gonna say how it figures I'd have handcuffs in my bedroom?" 

Max wasn't amused. 

"I'm keepin' you safe, Max." 

"You can't hold me here. I'll eventually get free." 

"No you won't," Alec said, leaning tiredly against the apartment door and sliding down to sit on the floor. "'Cause I'm gonna make sure you don't." 

_*****_

Joshua brought them food and told Logan that the pair had gone on a scouting mission outside. Max slept on the bed, and Alec slept on the floor in front of the door, keeping her safe. 

His plan almost worked. But the last day Max's heat was insatiable. Her feverish body tossed and turned on the mattress and no number of cold clothes and iced drinks could ease her torment. 

She looked like she was dying, and Alec felt like he was dying too, his own hormones raging in response to hers. He bet his body temperature was at least 105. 

"I promise I won't hate you," she murmured as he sat on the edge of the bed gently stroking her hair and holding a cup of ice chips to her dry lips. 

He swallowed some of the ice himself and set aside the cup. "You already hate me," he said softly, his hand sliding down the silky skin of her cheek. 

Her eyes filled with tears. "I was just so worried about you. And the only way to stop thinking about you was to get angry. I don't hate you, Alec. I wish I could. It would make my life a lot simpler. But I don't. In fact, what's really wrong is that I'm afraid I'm falling in love with you. And damn it, I don't want to. I want to stay in love with Logan." 

Was it just her hormones talking? Alec wondered. Would she say anything to seduce him ... tell him anything he wanted to hear? Did this mean he really had a chance? Because if he did, he didn't want to blow it by taking advantage of her now. 

But the primal part of his brain whispered that the only _chance_ he would ever have with her was now. "Max," he spoke low in her ear. "If we do this things are gonna be different between us. We won't be able to go back to how we were. I can't pretend it never happened." 

"You won't have to," Max promised as she pulled him down on top of her, her lips seeking his. "I promise you won't have to." 

###


	10. Chapter 10

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 10  
Don't Ask**

Max was gone when Alec woke up the next morning. _I've just made the biggest mistake of my life._

He found her in her usual place, Terminal City's command center, with Logan by her side. She glanced at him over her shoulder as he came up the steps, and the look of utter fear in her eyes cut through him like a knife. 

"I was just filling Logan in on what we discovered during out little expedition," she said, speaking quickly. "I told him we'd found several good marks for future heists so we can replenish our cash. I imagine that casino alone would bring in a couple of hundred thousand dollars if we hit them just before the armored car comes." 

Logan was looking at him for confirmation. "Like she said," Alec replied evenly, trying to decide whether or not to keep playing Max's little game. 

_Not._

There was a moment of awkward silence that Logan decided to fill. "I was telling Max that I wish she'd let me know beforehand next time you guys decide to go on reconnaissance. I probably could have saved both of you a lot of time and trouble by checking out those places with my sources first." 

"That's okay," Alec said flippantly, never taking his eyes off Max, daring her to try and stop him. "Max and I needed a vacation from this place anyway. Fact is, we had a real good time. Didn't we?" 

Max glared at him. 

"A good time?" Logan said,. 

"A _real_ good time," Alec said with a wicked grin. 

Max grabbed his shoulder and dragged him down the steps. "What the hell are you doing?" she hissed. 

"Max," Alec said through clenched teeth, "people are watching." He smiled broadly at Dix who had stopped what he was doing to stare curiously in their direction. 

"Why are you doing this to me?" 

Alec pulled her behind a pile of crates. "I told you that things were gonna be different between us and you said that was all right. Now, it looks like all you wanna do is forget the past two days." 

"I _do_ want to forget them. As far as I'm concerned, they never happened. You never happened. We never happened." 

He'd known this was how it would be -- had known it from the moment he woke up alone in bed with her warmth gone from his arms. She hadn't even left a note, just picked up her clothes and run away. But then Max always did like to run from her problems. Why should this time be any different? 

But this time _was_ different. Because this time her problem was going to chase her down, just like he'd chased her down two nights ago in the street. 

"Max, you said you had feelings for me." 

"Yeah, Alec, I do. I despise you. I loathe you. I hate you. Are those enough _feelings_ for you? Because those are the only ones you'll ever get from me." 

Alec looked up at the balcony. Logan was watching them closely. This had gone on long enough. Time to put on a little show for Mr. Cale's benefit, force Max to do what needed to be done, say what needed to be said. 

She started to move away and he quickly put his arm out, palm against the wall, blocking her retreat. "You said you were falling in love with me." She tried to move under and he pinned her with his body. The look of anger in her eyes was frightening, and Alec began to have second thoughts. 

"If you don't let me go," she said fiercely, "I'm going to seriously hurt you." 

"Not until you agree to tell Logan about us." 

"Never." 

"Then I'll tell him." 

"He won't believe you." 

"Yes, he will, Max. He'll believe me because deep down inside he knows it's true. Hell, he knew it was true even before I did. Back when you were pretendin' we were a couple just to keep him away? It didn't take much to convince him, did it? Don't you wonder why?" 

Max elbowed him in the solar plexus and ducked under his arm. Alec recovered in an instant and grabbed her shoulder. The fist connecting with his nose was more effective. 

"Ow! Not the face, Max!" 

"Get away from me," she hissed. 

Alec backed up a few steps, but she wasn't getting away from him so easily. "Max, I spent hours inside of you last night, making love to you. And you can't deny it felt right. If I were Logan, and you were my girl, I'd want to know if she'd been with someone like that." 

"It was my heat!" Max spat. "It didn't matter if it was you, Dante, or a fence post." 

That hurt, and accomplished what her physical blows hadn't. He spread his arms wide, indicating she was free to go. _Okay_, his eyes said. _I tried. You win._

*****

Max knew the only way out of this insanity was to concentrate on her work, leading the mutants of Terminal City and insuring their survival. Alec was going to have to be relegated to an afterthought. She'd just keep reminding herself that her time with him could as easily have been with a total stranger. When she was in her right mind he meant nothing to her -- well, maybe not nothing, but at least he wasn't as important as he now seemed to think he was. 

"What's going on between you and Alec?" Logan asked, regarding her over the rim of his glasses as he sat at the computer keyboard. 

"Nothing," Max said. 

"That little display down below a minute ago didn't look like nothing to me." 

"Alec's just being an ass as usual." 

"What did he say to you to make you hit him?" 

"He was mouthing off," Max said, desperately wishing Logan would drop the subject. "I shut him up." 

"Do you want me to talk to him?" 

"No!" Max hadn't meant the word to come out as a yelp. "I mean, it wouldn't do any good. You know Alec." 

Logan sighed heavily, then looked around to make sure Dix wasn't standing too close by. "Max, I once asked you if something was going on between you and Alec and you told me there was, but then a few days ago you told me you'd been lying and had said that just to try and protect me. I believed you because I wanted to." 

"Your point?" Max asked tiredly. 

"Max, whether or not he admits it to you or even to himself, Alec's in love with you. Any fool can see that. He follows you around like a puppy dog trying to please you in his own twisted way." 

"He just feels guilty for all the trouble he's caused me," Max said, beginning to panic again. Logan was getting way too close to the truth. "And he doesn't follow me around. In fact, I'm sure he's got a girlfriend, or more likely lots of girlfriends. He certainly doesn't want a romance with me. Sex maybe, but then Alec would hump anything with an X chromosome and a pulse." 

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," Logan said quietly. 

"What?" 

"What happened over the past two days, Max?" 

"Logan," she said, "please don't ask me that. If you value what we have, then don't ask me." 

"Was he good in bed?" 

"Logan ... please." 

"Of course he was. Or are you going to tell me you closed your eyes and thought about me the whole time, the boyfriend you can't so much as touch let alone make love to. I suppose if you wanted a stand-in, your X5 breeding partner would be the logical choice." 

Logan leaned back in his chair, an odd expression on his face. "But what I don't understand is what went wrong? What does Alec the tomcat have his claws in the ceiling about? Does he seriously think you were using him as a substitute for me? Did you tell him last night that you loved him then denied it to his face this morning? What are you doing, Max?" 

"Logan ..." 

"Who's name were you screaming last night, Max? Mine or his?" 

"His," she said weakly as tears streamed down her face. "His." 

###


	11. Chapter 11

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 11  
An Invitation**

The military wasn't going to wait much longer. Everyone was gathered around the television sets in the command center, listening to the sector police chief and a National Guard major giving a speech about how this intolerable situation would soon be resolved. 

"Resolved how?" Dix asked. 

"How do you think?" Mole said. "By killin' all the mutants." 

"I'd like to see them try," Max said. "We're well armed and well supplied. They'll take heavy casualties if they try to take us down and I doubt they want that kind of bad PR." 

"There's been some movement on the perimeter this morning," Mole pointed out. "Could be they're gettin' ready to launch an assault." 

"Ah, you always think the worst," Luke said. "More'n likely they're just rearranging the troops, changing out the ranks." 

"Be quiet," Max said, listening to the newscast. 

"Our sources inform us that plans are underway to arrange a meeting between the mutant leaders and the military," Channel 9's anchorwoman read. "We'll keep you up-to-date on any new developents in this area." 

"I haven't gotten any party invitation," Max said wryly. "I wonder what she's talking about?" 

"Maybe about this," Joshua said from the doorway. He was holding up an envelope. "One of the soldiers outside slid this under the barricade." 

Max walked down the steps and took the envelope from Joshua. Tearing it open, she read what was inside, then turned to the others. "They want two of us to come to the sector police station so we can start negotiating. They guarantee our safe passage." 

"I'll go with you," Joshua said. 

Max smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but I think you'd make them nervous, Big Fella." 

"That leaves me out, too," Mole said, chewing on his cigar. "Who you gonna take then? Logan?" 

"No," Max said, not liking what she knew she had to say. "Logan's not one of our kind." Her eyes scanned the room, but she didn't see the one she knew she needed. "Does anyone knew where Alec is?" 

*****

"Exactly what do we know about these transgenics?" Major Donahue asked. He'd only recently arrived in Seattle to take over the National Guard operations and had yet to be completely briefed on the Terminal City situation. 

A man in a white lab coat, Dr. Chin, shuffled through a stack of papers until he found what he was looking for. Then he turned to the major. "In a nutshell, sir, they're supersoldiers. Created by a secret branch of our own government over the past 30 years in a program called 'Manticore.' Last year the program was ordered shut down, but something happened and these creatures escaped into the outside world -- hundreds of them." 

"I know something about the mutants," the major said, his distaste evident. "I've seen the newscasts, the filmed footage, the autospsy reports. Most of them seem to be bizarre enough looking that they won't have any way of hiding even if they do escape from Terminal City. The ones I'm worried about are the X series. Their exterior human appearance would allow them to infiltrate our race, breed, perhaps one day challenge mankind's very existance. I want to know about the X's and what they're capable of." 

"The X series were Manticore's most successful attempt to meld human and animal DNA," Dr. Chin said. "The X1's, 2's, and 3's aren't exactly human looking. Their appearances reflect their animal DNA in fairly obvious ways. The X4's were better, but they can still be recognized as nonhuman. Some have canine teeth, or the remnants of a tail -- possible to hide but discernable if you look closely enough. Our real problem are the X5's." 

"What's so special about them?" Donahue asked. 

"They're Manticore's crowning achievement, their success story. The X5's are completely human looking on the exterior, but they have incredible speed and strength due to the addition of feline DNA and other genetic tampering. In addition, our autopsies indicate their senses are enhanced -- night vision, super acute hearing, taste and smell. Their immune systems are also revved up. Oh, and according to our inside source, their average I.Q. is in the 185 range. They may have other attributes as well that we just don't know about yet. There are even rumors of extrasensory perception abilities. We've autopsied two X5 bodies, a male and a female. However, their DNA is so complex it could take us years to unravel and understand everything their creators did in the lab." 

"Aren't there X6's and 7's?" 

"Yes, sir. And eights. However, according to our source who worked with the Manticore project, the series beyond the X5's were actually somewhat un-enhanced." 

"Explain." 

"The X5's were incredible physical specimans, but their handlers determined they had several major psychological flaws. Their creators made them far too aggressive, self-reliant and independent which led to rogue behavior. It was also later decided that certain emotional factors should have been eliminated. There was an attempt to correct these flaws in the later models, make them more passive." 

"In a military scenario the X5's would be the leaders, the officers, and the others their army," Donahue said. "An X5 _is_ leading the creatures, correct?" 

"Yes, sir," the police chief said. "And our source has given us specifics about her, X5-452." 

Another man who had been standing to one side in the room now spoke up. "Excuse me, gentlemen, but they're not creatures. I encountered several of these people during the incident at the Jam Pony Messenger building that preceded the current situation. Some of them are as human as you or I. And right now, I imagine they're just as scared of us as we are of them." 

"Major," the police chief said. "This is Detective Clemente, the officer who I'm afraid allowed the mutants to escape into Terminal City several weeks ago." 

"I personally spoke with 452," Clemente continued, ignoring the criticism. "Her name, by the way, is Max. She's a brave and beautiful young woman who seems to have a very level head on her shoulders. I'm sure if you speak with her and don't threaten her people all of this could be resolved peacefully." 

"Oh, we intend to speak with her," Donahue said. "An invitation has already been issued. If she accepts, and we talk face-to-face, I have an offer ready that will indeed quickly end this intolerable situation." 

"What kind of offer?" Clemente asked. 

"An offer for all of the mutants to surrender to the military," Donahuse said. "Technically, they're military property anyway, the same as a tank, or a gun, or a missile. If it weren't so messy, we would probably be better off simply cleansing the entire Terminal City area, taking it down to the dirt. It's not as if they're people or even animals. They're things." 

The police chief cleared his throat. 

Donahue looked at him. "But there are some objections to performing such a radical military action in the middle of a populated area. Therefore, we will negotiate with 452. However, the end result will be the same, the mutants will be eliminated from the general population. Whether this happens peacefully, or with a massacre, is going to be up to 452." 

###


	12. Chapter 12

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 12  
Walking Away**

"I thought I was the only one who hid out in this place," OC said, coming into the dimly lit basement room where some of Terminal City's supplies were stored. She was babysitting Gem's baby, named Maxine in honor of her rescuer, cradling the sleeping infant against her shoulder. 

Alec looked up at her, a guilty expression on his face, although he didn't make any effort to hide the half empty bottle of Scotch in his hand. Seated on a packing crate with his back against one of the basement's support beams, he'd hoped to find an hour or so of peace and quiet away from the constant questions and demands of his fellow mutants upstairs in the command center .. . away from Max's disapproving eyes. 

OC pulled up another crate with her free hand and sat down beside him. "She'll forgive you sooner or later you know. No matter what dumb ass thing you did this time. She always does. It just ain't in my girl to hold a grudge against one of her own kind." 

Alec's smile was lopsided as he took a drink from the bottle. He then closed his eyes and tilted his head back, enjoying the feel of the liquor as it went down. "Who says I'm the one who needs forgiving?" he said roughly. "Maybe it's her turn this time." 

OC looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "So, you just givin' up on her?" 

"She's got Logan." he said. "And maybe that's how things are supposed to be." He opened his eyes and pinned OC with an inscrutable gaze. "I used to think I had a shot. But, hey, everyone knows the bad guy never gets the girl." 

"Alec. Honey. You're _not_ one of the bad guys. And don't go lettin' Max else tell you so." 

"I've _always_ been one of the bad guys to her, OC. 'Course I don't know why she'd think that. After all, what's a little thing like pretendin' to be her friend at Manticore just so I could tail her back to the man she loves and assassinate him? 

"You weren't sent to kill Logan," OC said. "You were just sent to see if Max gave Logan the virus, then tell her how to save his life." 

"Bring her back as a prisoner, you mean. And I _was_ gonna kill Logan ... had a gun pointed right at his head 'til Asha came in and distracted me. Then there was the time I was gonna put a knife in Max's heart to save my own skin, and oh yeah, I tried to kill Joshua too. Then I cost her the cure for the virus." He glanced at OC. "I could go on." 

"And you could have killed Asha and Logan and Max too if you'd wanted," OC said softly. "But the important thing is you didn't. Don't you think it's kinda significant that you were willing to let your own head explode rather than hurt her-- willing to give up your life for hers. I doubt that kind of self sacrifice was taught at Manticore. That comes from the goodness in your heart -- a goodness that all of Manticore's brainwashin' and torture couldn't destroy. 

"As for losin' the cure for that bitch virus, that was Max's choice, which just goes to show my girl cared for you even back in your baddest days." OC shifted the sleeping baby in her arms, looked down at the child, and smiled. When she looked back up at Alec her eyes were still gentle. "494 was the assassin, not Alec. And don't you ever forget that. It's just not in you to kill in cold blood anymore." 

"Oh, yes it is," Alec said lightly, taking another drink from the bottle, his eyes empty. "Hey, I killed one of my own in cold blood just a couple of days ago, didn't you hear?" 

"I heard you took down a real bad piece of X5 trash who was about to break Max's neck and worse. Also heard he murdered three people the day before, knockin' over some liquor stores. That's _not_ killin' in cold blood, Alec. Like it or not, you're wearin' a white hat on that one." 

"At least Dante got some good Scotch," Alec said, holding up the bottle. 

OC grabbed it away from him. 

"Hey!" 

"You've had enough. Even if you can't get your transgenic ass drunk you've got to quit tryin' to hide in that bottle. Max needs you right now, and not with your head buzzin'." 

"Max has Logan," Alec said evenly. "She can cry on his shoulder ... figuratively speaking of course." 

"Was it his shoulder she was cryin' on during her heat cycle?" OC asked. 

Alec looked away. "She needed someone to protect her and I knew Logan couldn't. I tried, but I fucked it up as usual." He chuckled. "Fucked her too." 

"You saved her from Dante." 

"Yeah, but I didn't save her from myself. 'Course I've gotta admit she was sendin' mixed signals, especially when she started attackin' me with her lips." 

OC set the bottle down and reached out, touching his cheek with her hand, forcing him to look at her. 

"Maybe you weren't supposed to save her from yourself. I'm thinkin' Max got just what she needed from you, whether she realizes it yet or not." 

Alec couldn't believe he was opening up to OC like this, but it felt so good to have someone to talk to who was on his side for a change. "She said she was falling in love with me," he said, his voice rough again. "Then she took it back. You just don't do that to a man. Get his hopes up, then spit in his face. Now she's actin' like I'm just something on her shoe that needs to be scraped off." 

"I heard about your little drama yesterday," OC chuckled. "Wish I could'a been there. Folks say it was better than a soap opera, Max all fired up and you all macho and indignant." OC checked the baby who was stirring in her lap, shifted Maxine to her shoulder, and began patting her on the back. "Give Max some time, Alec. Sooner or later she's gonna realize who's best for her. Might be Logan. Might be you. You gotta remember somethin' though -- bein' sent to assassinate Logan aside, you started out actin' like a real jerk around her, sayin' all the wrong things, makin' all the wrong choices, pushin' all her wrong buttons. But you didn't know any better. Hell, you weren't much more'n a bratty little kid when you came out of Manticore and that was the only way you knew how to get her attention. Max had it way over you in the relationship experience department. You two just weren't equals on that level." 

"She still thinks I'm a jerk," Alec said morosely, eying the bottle and wondering if he could swipe it back. "Guess maybe I am." 

"No," OC said, shaking her head. "Original Cindy's been watchin' you. You've grown up a lot since Manticore. For months you've been helpin' Max rescue your transgenic kin, seein' to her back and bein' there for her when it counts. And I know you've been helpin' out down here in Terminal City for awhile, shoulderin' a lot of responsibility. Then I saw with my own eyes how you took charge at Jam Pony during our little fun and games with White ... how you fought like the devil come outta hell in spite of bein' all hurt. You never backed off, you never complained, you just did what you had to do. That's what grown up means, Alec. Doin' what you have to do even if it hurts. Max just hasn't looked at you close enough lately. You're a man not a boy, and every bit equal to Logan Cale whether you and Max think so or not." 

She reached out and took hold of his hand. "You've got a purpose in life now, Boo. And I got a strong suspicion Max is a big part of that purpose." 

"She has Logan," Alec said stubbornly. 

"No, she _doesn't_ have Logan." 

Alec looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?" 

"Logan left last night. Said somethin' about Max havin' made her choice. Now, you wouldn't know what she meant by that would you?" 

Alec felt as if his heart had just literally turned over in his chest. "Logan left? Left for where?" 

OC shrugged. "Probably back to Joshua's house. He said he'd still help us, but he wasn't gonna stand in Max's way. Didn't seem too happy 'bout it though." 

"Where's Max now?" 

"Upstairs where she always is," OC said, looking toward the ceiling. "Seems the government guys finally wanna talk and they've invited her to some big pow wow." 

But Alec was already on his feet, headed for the command center. However, at the bottom of the steps he turned and looked back. "Thanks, OC." 

"You're welcome," she said with a satisfied smile. "Now, go and get our girl." 

***** 

"About time you showed," Max said without looking at him. 

"I was told you wanted to see me," Alec said, carefully. 

She looked up at him, her eyes unreadable. "The government and military want to talk. They've asked me to come to a meeting. I'm supposed to bring a second person along." 

"You askin' me?" 

"I figured I'd take you, yeah." 

"Max, you say that like I'm a suitcase or something. 

"Fine," she said, slamming the reports she'd been reading down on the table. "I'll take someone else." 

"Max," Alec quickly said. "I'll go. I'll watch your back." 

She looked up at him, and even though he knew it was probably his imagination, he thought he saw a glimmer of relief in her eyes. 

"They want us there at nine tomorrow morning," she said. "It could very well be a trap." She was still looking at him. "You don't have to come. For all we know White will be waiting and he'll kill us both." 

"Which is all the more reason you need me along," Alec said firmly, determined to live up to OC's expectations. "You know I'm always better at sensing things like that. You're way too trusting." 

"Okay," she said. "Meet me at the main exit at 0800." She turned around, dismissing him. 

"Max," Alec said. 

"What?" She looked over her shoulder at him. 

"I heard Logan left." 

"You heard right." 

"Why?" 

"Why do you think?" 

Now he hated what he saw in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Max," he said. And then he walked away again, just the way she wanted him to. 

###


	13. Chapter 13

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 13  
Negotiations**

"Lose the gun," Max said. 

"Aw, Max. Come on. I've gotta have somethin' to defend us with. I'm supposed to be your bodyguard aren't I?" 

"I said no guns. And you're _not_ my bodyguard. If anything, I'm yours seein' as how I'm always rescuin' your ass." 

"Why no guns?" 

"One, it will make them trust us even less. Two, they'll probably just take it away from you. And three, I don't trust you not to do something stupid with it." 

"Like shoot myself in the foot." 

"Sarcasm doesn't become you, Alec." 

"Max, we're at war. We're soldiers. We're supposed to be armed." 

"This is a peace negotiation, not a battle." 

"I'm not so sure about that. What if White's there?" His words finally gave Max pause. "Do you know if Ames is in on this? Did they give you any details," he pressed. 

Max was looking like a thundercloud. "No. All they said was to meet them outside our main gate at nine this morning." 

Alec checked his watch. Two minutes to go. He put his hand on the .45 automatic in his belt, not risking his favorite Glock to confiscation. 

"Max, I know this might be a little bit late to say, but did it occur to you that all they have to do is kill the two of us and this whole transgenic nation idea of yours will fall apart?" 

"They don't know that," Max said nervously. 

There was the sound of a vehicle approaching the other side of the gate. Alec glanced up at the lookout who nodded. "You real sure you want to do this?" 

"We don't have any choice," she said in a low voice. "You know we don't." 

Alec hated to admit it, but he had to agree. They certainly couldn't stay holed up in Terminal City forever. Sooner or later negotiations would have to begin, and they probably had more leverage now than they would later when the mutants within began to get restless. As for himself, there was no way he was going to let Max go into something like this with anyone but him by her side. "Let's do it," he said. 

Their people opened the makeshift gates and the two X5's walked through to where a jeep was waiting. There was a driver, and no one else. 

"Where are we going?" Max asked as they both climbed in. 

"Sector Police headquarters," the driver said, giving them a sideways look. 

"Whoa! I thought this was gonna be some place neutral," Alec said. He looked back over his shoulder at Terminal City. There was still time to jump out and retreat. Then he saw the resolved expression on Max's face and knew that wasn't going to happen. Resigned to his fate, Alec sighed heavily and slouched in the jeep's back seat, the pressure of the .45 against his spine giving little comfort. 

*****

Alec made it all the way up the steps to the Sector Police Station's front door before he found himself with a rifle pointed at his chest. "Halt!" the young guardsman said. Two others came forward and began to frisk them. Max started to protest, but Alec shook his head, the look in his eyes warning her to stand down. He knew the drill and there was no use complaining. Still, it had been worth a try. Besides, he wasn't all that upset about losing the gun. He could always acquire another if necessary. Afterall, he was an X5, a highly trained, genetically engineered killing machine -- or at least that's what the yaps on the TV news kept saying. What better weapon was there than himself? 

He smiled his most apologetic smile at the guardsman who confiscated the automatic, and got a blank stare in return. So much for making nice, Alec thought. These soldiers were even more brainwashed than he'd been -- convinced that the mutants were the enemy. 

They were escorted inside and entered an elevator. The meeting was on the fourth floor in a room with several chairs surrounding a conference table. Alec immediately noted the lack of windows and ventilation ducts. 

"We're gonna be trapped like rats," he said under his breath to Max. "I can't believe you talked me into doing this." 

"Shut up." 

They took two seats and waited. A minute or so later the door opened and a National Guard officer entered followed by what had to be the sector police chief. Alec looked over at Max, and saw her still staring at the door. 

"What is it?" he asked in a low voice. 

The door opened once more and Max's face paled. Alec turned in his seat -- and with a thud of his heart, he understood. 

Lydecker. Alive. 

"Max?" Alec said, his voice rising, wondering if this might not be their cue to exit in a dramatic fashion. But her hand on his arm kept him in his seat. 

"Wait," she said. "He's on our side, remember?" 

"He's Manticore," Alec shot back. Lydecker was staring at them, looking almost as shaken as Max. 

"Wait," Max repeated. And Alec knew he would. 

The National Guard officer cleared his throat. "I'm Major Donahue. This is Police Chief Wyatt. "I presume I'm speaking with 452?" 

"My name's Max." 

"And your companion?" He tilted his head in Alec's direction. 

"494," Lydecker said. 

Of course Lydecker would remember him. 

"His name's Alec," Max said evenly. 

"Alec McDowell." It was Wyatt who spoke. He turned to the major. "A fugitive from justice wanted for the murder of Timothy Ryan and a suspect in the murder of at least ten others. No matter what kind of negotiations you complete today, this ... mutant ... isn't leaving the building. He's under arrest." 

Alec narrowed his eyes. _Shit._

"I thought you straightened that out," Max hissed in his ear. 

"I was going to," Alec said. "But I've been a little busy." 

"Did you say 494?" Donahue asked, looking through a sheaf of papers. He came to a page, paused, and slowly turned angry eyes on Alec. "He's also wanted by the United States Government for seven other murders, all believed to have been hired hits." He turned to Lydecker. "This son of a bitch is one of your assassins!" 

"Wait a minute!" Max shouted. At the same time Lydecker stood up, his chair pushed back so quickly it overturned. 

Alec wondered if he should feel special, being the center of attention and all. At the very least he supposed he needed to defend himself. But when he started to say something-- 

"Shut up!" Max said, putting her hand over his mouth. "Let me handle this. You'll just make it worse." She turned to Lydecker. "Tell them about Ben." 

"Who?" Lydecker said. 

"493. Tell them about him right now!" 

Lydecker was staring at Alec now. "He's a mirror image, isn't he?" he said softly. 

"What's this about a 493?" Chief Wyatt said. 

"494 ... Alec ... had an identical twin brother, 493, who's your real murderer," Lydecker said. "There would of course be a perfect DNA match between the two because they're essentially clones." 

"Thank you," Alec said adamantly, glad that Lydecker seemed inclined to clear him, but miffed that he had to go through this shit about Ben yet again. 

"So there's another one who looks just like this one running around loose?" the chief asked, his voice incredulous. 

"No," Max said. "Ben died over a year ago, while Alec was locked up at Manticore. Your murderer is dead, and Alec has an airtight alibai." She looked to Lydecker for confirmation. He nodded. 

"And the hired hits?" Donahue asked, still glaring at Alec. 

Alec shrugged. "My bad." _Hey, what could he say?_ "But they _were_ carried out under government orders. Of course I've changed careers since then, traded in my sniper's rifle for the fast paced world of a bike messenger service." 

"Are you telling us the U.S. government ordered the death of Rachel Berrisford?" Donahue asked. 

Alec swallowed hard. "Collateral damage," he said huskily. _Rachel, forgive me for calling you that._

"Acceptable in his line of work," Lydecker added. "Give it up, Major. The boy isn't guilty of anything you can bring charges for." 

"That remains to be seen," Donahue said. "However, I assure you, once this situation is resolved there _are_ going to be trials." 

"Hey!" Max said loudly. "I thought we were here to negotiate about my people in Terminal City, not crucify my second in command!" 

_Second in command?_ Alec wondered if Max was joking. 

"If you want to deal with me, you also deal with Alec. Remember that." she said. 

Lydecker was smiling and shaking his head, as if Max amused him, and Alec's distrust of the man grew stronger. 

"What's your deal?" she said. 

"It's a simple matter, really," Donahue said. "All of your people are to surrender to the military." 

"Are you out of your mind?" Alec said. Now he was on his feet as well. 

Two armed guards who had stepped inside the door earlier reached for their weapons. Donahue's hand stayed them. 

"Turn ourselves over to be killed?" Max said. "Not likely." 

"Not killed," Donahue said. "To serve." 

"What the hell does that mean?" 

"It means they want you to return to your true vocation in life," Lydecker said. "They want all of you to come home." 

"You mean they want me to be an assassin again?" Alec said."I dunno. I did get to see the world, but the pay and the hours were lousy, plus the health plan was a real pain. I don't think so." 

"You'd all be put to use according to your abilities," Lydecker tried. "You'd be safe, protected. On the outside world you're out of your element. You and 452 were never meant to be living with ordinary humans. They hate and fear you, and eventually they'll kill you. I've been assured by the government that a new Manticore will be built, a place for all of you to return to." 

"A new Manticore?" Max said. "Hey, I just finished takin' down the old one. Why the hell would I want it rebuilt?" 

"Do you have an alternative plan, Max?" Lydecker asked. 

"Yeah," she said. "How about just letting all of us walk out of Terminal City and assume our rightful places as U.S. citizens. Oh, and we could use some of that government aide you guys are always doling out as well, just to get us on our feet. Maybe some job training, education vouchers, food stamps, health coverage ... I figure you owe us big time. First you created us, then you used us, and now you want to throw us away like garbage. Well, you aren't going to get away with it. There could be lawsuits you know." 

"That's not going to happen, Max," Lydecker said. 

"I want to talk to someone higher up than this dingle," she said, eying Donahue. 

"Max," Lydecker said quietly. "You've been given your offer. Safe passage out of Terminal City for all of the mutants and a place to live and serve under government protection. Take the offer to your people." 

Max looked at Alec who still had two guns pointed at him. He shrugged once more. What else could they do right now? 

"Fine," Max said tiredly, standing to leave. "I'll go back and talk to them. But I already know what the answer's going to be." 

"They'll do whatever you say," Lydecker said. "You know that." 

"They'll do what's right," Max replied. "Come on, Alec. We'll ask the nice men if you can have your gun back on the way out." 

"Wait a minute," Wyatt said. 

"What?" 

"I'm afraid 494 will have to stay here while you take the message to the others." 

"What?" Max said. "Like hell he will." 

"It's why we asked for a second person to come with you. We knew you'd have to return, but as long as we're holding your companion your cooperation is more assured." 

"You mean I'm a hostage?" Alec said slowly. He turned to Max. "See. I told you so. I told you this was a trap." 

"Shut up." 

"What if I go back to Terminal City and my people say no to your plan? What happens then?" Max asked. 

"War," Donahue replied. Then he looked at Alec. "And right here's your first casualty." 

"In other words, 452," the police chief said, "either you talk your mutant army into surrendering peacefully so my town doesn't get torn apart, or your murderin' boyfriend here is going to find out what happens to pretty young mutants like him in our prison system. In fact, I rather doubt he'll survive the experience." He motioned to the two armed men. "Arrest him," he said, pointing to Alec. "Book him on murder and take him to a holding cell. Twin or not, I say we've got our man." 

###


	14. Chapter 14

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 14  
A Little Chat**

"Don't worry," Lydecker said. "They won't be putting you in with the general prison population." He smiled humorlessly. "I told Chief Wyatt it would be like letting a shark loose in a goldfish tank. Give you five minutes alone with his inmates and there wouldn't be anything left of them except a bloody mess on the floor." 

"That's not exactly what I was worried about," Alec said carefully. He'd been taken to an isolation cell somewhere in the basement of the building, and his only thoughts right now were of escape. He didn't want Max worrying about him or trying to mount some kind of insane rescue. 

"I've also been trying to convince Donahue that it was a mistake to take you hostage. That my kids would sacrifice one of their own without a second thought if they had to. Max won't be coming back for you. Isn't that right?" 

"Right," Alec said, still keeping careful control of his tongue. 

"494, why don't I believe you?" 

"I dunno, Lydecker.You tell me?" 

"Because I'm betting you've fallen under 452's spell. I've seen her effect on my soldiers before. She elicits a loyalty way beyond anything Manticore could ever have accomplished. 599 loved her, and nothing I did to him could persuade him to give her up -- not torture, not drugs, not tele-coercion. I hear that, in the end, he died for her. I have a feeling you would too." 

"599?" Alec said. Then he remembered. "Zack." 

Lydecker nodded. 

_I knew he didn't feel brotherly about Max._

"One thing wrong with your theory, Lydecker," Alec said. "I don't love her, and she doesn't give a rat's ass about me. Hell, we can hardly stand each other. Fact is, I tried to kill her not so long ago. Max _won't_ be comin' back for me." 

"Max's reasons for rescuing you don't really matter," Lydecker said. "She _will_ try to get you out of here. I know her too well to doubt that. What's important is that she not get herself killed in the attempt. She's far too valuable to risk. Which is why I'm going help you escape before she comes for you." 

"You're gonna spring me?" Alec said, not quite believing what he was hearing. 

"And in return I expect your cooperation in convincing Max to bring the mutants back into Manticore." 

"No one convinces Max of anything," Alec said. "Especially me." 

"I'm not so certain about that. But in any case, I'm not going to let Wyatt put you on trial or Donahue get his hands on you. There's already talk about sending you off to some research facility in Washington for study. You're the first live X5 they've captured. My kids have a much higher purpose than being lab rats." 

"Seems to me that's exactly what we've always been to you, Lydecker -- lab rats." 

Lydecker smiled again, shaking his head. "Unbelievable. It's absolutely unbelievable how well you've adapted to the outside world, able to talk to your superior officer in such a disrespectful, flippant manner. All those years of lessons, indoctrination--" 

"You mean brainwashing," Alec said evenly. 

"Brainwashing," Lydecker conceded. "We really did make a mistake with you X5's. We made you too strong, independent, and stubborn. Hell, we created a race of beings we can't control no matter how many mental chains we throw around your minds. Max and her fellow escapees I can understand, they've had years of freedom and they got away while very young and still impressionable. But you, 494 ... you're pure Manticore, yet in under a year you've managed to shake off all of your training." 

"Not all of it," Alec said with a smirk. "Just the parts of it that made me a robot." 

"You were a good soldier, 494. Certainly you remember the missions you went on for me. I always enjoyed using you on my teams. You might not have been the most vicious fighter, but you somehow always managed to get the job done. 

"But I also remember you, Lydecker," Alec said. "You weren't too pleased with me after Cairo. I spent four days in that metal hell box in the Egyptian sun because you didn't like the way I covered for one of my team." 

"Your mistake wasn't helping your fellow X5," Lydecker said. "That's not what I punished you for. You were punished for getting caught at it. You came out of it as cocky as ever though," he said with a grin. He looked at his notes again. "You were a failure as a solo assassin. I didn't realize that." He read more. "The Berrisford mission essentially ended your career." He looked up at Alec, eyebrows raised in surprise. "You were put through re-indoctrination." 

"Yeah," Alec said. "Guess it didn't take." 

"You were only given the level two treatment. The Committee didn't want to risk brain damage. They saw you as a valuable asset and thought you were salvageable. I gather you eventually remembered everything anyway, in spite of their efforts.?" 

"Everything," Alec said levelly. 

"Meaning Rachel?" Lydecker said, consulting his notes again. "The girl you fell in love with then killed." 

Alec didn't deny that. 

"You know there are deeper levels of re-indoctrination? For example, we could make you forget this entire past year, forget all about Max and your months of freedom. We could reset your brain so you'd be a good Manticore soldier again. Not without a great deal of pain and some brain damage of course, but technically ... we've done it before to rogue X5's." 

"I'd like to see you try," Alec said. But actually, he wouldn't. Lydecker's words put a lump of fear in his throat. They'd made him forget about Rachel for a long time. What if they really could make him forget Max and Joshua ... make him forget who he really was ... make him forget Alec? 

"But our scientists are scattered all over the world," Lydecker said. "And there is no Manticore. So you can go on loving her, for now. I won't try to stop you." 

_Yeah, you'll just try to use it to your advantage._

"Max has my wife's eyes, you know." 

Alec shot Lydecker an incredulous look. 

"I donated my wife's DNA to Manticore. They used the coding for her eye shape and color when they created Max." He consulted the database again and looked more closely at Alec. 

"Most of _your_ gene base came from Sandeman, like all the rest of the mutants. But your hazel-green eyes came from your genetic mother. I remember. It was one of the more striking features that we decided to keep in the gene base even though it was an accident. They're natural, not DNA spliced." 

"My mother?" 

"All of you had mothers. You just don't know who they are. They were the original egg donors. Then, of course, there are the surrogates, who could also be considered your mothers." 

Alec knew none of this should matter to him, and he was getting rather suspicious as to why Lydecker seemed so chatty. But as long as the man was giving out information ... 

"What about Ben?" Alec asked. "He went nuts. Is there anything in that little database about him? Can you tell me what happened?" 

Lydecker didn't even have to consult his notes. "Ben," he said, sadly shaking his head. "My 493. He was schizophrenic." 

"And I could be, too?" 

Lydecker cocked an eyebrow at him. "Worries you a bit, does it? Well, there's always the possibility, but it's not likely. You'd be showing some symptoms by now and psi-ops are pretty thorough. Six months evaluation would have turned up the illness." 

"Illness? I thought it was hereditary." 

"Only the tendency to contract the disease. It was an oversight that the predisposition wasn't eliminated in your DNA in the lab before your birth. They think a virus triggers it -- alters brain chemistry. Ben could have been treated with drugs, could have led a fairly normal life once his condition was under control, but of course he never had that chance. Someone broke his neck before we could get to him and help him. You haven't been hearing annoying little voices in your head have you?" 

"Just yours. So, I'm probably all right?" 

"Probably," was all Lydecker would say. He regarded Alec for a long moment. 

"Are we through?" 

"That depends. Will you back me up with Max, tell her to recommend all of the mutants stand down and return to the new Manticore?" 

"Sure," Alec said. "Why not." 

Lydecker smiled again. "I'd ask for your word, but then that wouldn't mean anything, would it?" 

"What do you think?" 

"In which case I'll just have take my chances with you. Either way, Donahue and Wyatt aren't going to be keeping one of my kids." 

"Do you have a plan for getting out of here?" Alec asked. 

"Not yet. How about you? Has that enhanced brain of yours come up with an escape scenario?" 

"Yeah, I think it has. Call the guard." 

###


	15. Chapter 15

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 15  
Prayer**

"They want us to surrender," Max told the assembled crowd of mutants. "They promise us safety if we'll give ourselves up to the military and be used as captive soldiers again." 

Her news was met with dead silence. 

"I say no," she said. "But I can't speak for all of you. If some of you want to do this, I understand. But personally, I spent enough of my life locked up at Manticore. I sure as hell don't want to go back there again." 

"I say no!" Mole shouted. 

"No!" the crowd roared. 

In the end, there wasn't a single taker, and Max knew they were right back where they'd started -- alone and at war. Now, all they could do was to wait for Donahue to make the next move. 

*****

"What about Alec, Little Fella?" Joshua asked her after the crowd had dispersed. 

Max, seated at the command table, dropped her face into her hands. "I don't know," she said. She looked up at Joshua, hair hanging in her eyes. "It's so ironic. I'm always bustin' Alec's ass about him getting into trouble, and now I'm the one who dragged him right into the line of fire. It's my fault he's being held prisoner down there." 

"What will you do?" Joshua said. "Rescue him?" 

"How? He's at Sector Police Headquarters. I know I got him out of there once before, but now it's crawling with military. Oh, and on top of everything else Lydecker's alive. He showed up for the conference. _That_ really made my day." 

Joshua growled at the name. "Lydecker hurt Max." 

"I know," she said, remembering her horrific childhood. "But I've got a funny feeling about him now. I almost think he wants to help us. Even though he said something about rebuilding Manticore. I guess dead soldiers wouldn't be any good to him." 

"Will Lydecker protect Alec?" 

Max shrugged. "I know Alec doesn't trust him. And Alec's usually right about things like that." 

Joshua put a big hand on Max's shoulder. "You miss Alec. Little Fella wants Alec to come home." 

Tears began to slip down her face. "I very much want Alec to come home, Joshua. I _need_ him to come home." _I don't know if I can go on if he never touches me again._

"Can Logan help?" 

"No," Max said sadly, the tears still falling. "I can't ask Logan for help about this." She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "What I'm really afraid of is that they'll send Alec away somewhere. If Lydecker gets him, he might do something to him, try and make Alec the way he used to be, a Manticore assassin." 

"Alec would never let that happen. Alec would never forget Max and his friends." 

Max turned big eyes on Joshua. "You don't know the ways they torture people. They could do to Alec what they did to Zack. They could hurt him so badly ..." 

"I'll help you rescue Alec," Joshua said firmly. "I'll go with you and together we'll get him out of there." 

"We can't Joshua. We just can't. Alec's on his own this time." 

*****

"We're too high!" Lydecker shouted to be heard above the gunfire. 

"I can make it!" Alec yelled in return as he got off several rounds at his pursuers before ducking back behind the metal ventilation shaft. 

Lydecker looked at him, a pained expression on his face. "The roof of the police station might not have been the best route, 494." 

"Well, it didn't look this high from the ground," Alec snapped. He was breathing hard. He'd had to fight his way through eight guards to gain access to what he thought would be a way out. But Lydecker was right. A 100 foot drop was too much for even an X5 and to try and climb down would make him a perfect target. 

He looked around, seeking an alternative, and his eyes came to rest on the neighboring building. "That one's two stories lower," Alec said, pointing his chin at the other structure. 

"Still too high," Lydecker warned. "And the distance between the buildings is about your limit. If you miss, you'll break your neck." 

"I won't miss," Alec said. He started to move, but Lydecker's hand on his arm stopped him. 

"Where's Logan Cale?" Lydecker asked. "I really thought he'd be the one Max brought with her. You were a bit of a surprise. I need to talk to him." 

"Logan's hidin' out," Alec said, tossing off two more shots. 

"I have to talk to him," Lydecker repeated. 

"Where can he reach you? I'll tell him." 

"No good," Lydecker said. "In a minute or so you're probably going to be lying dead down there on the pavement." 

"He's got an email address," Alec said. "It's supposedly untraceable.You can reach him there. Bastet at network dot net. Can I go now?" Alec was beginning to feel desperate. The police were definitely closing in and he was almost out of bullets. 

"Good luck," Lydecker said. "And remember, above all else, protect Max." 

"Works for me," Alec said. Then he realized something. "What about you? Won't you be arrested?" 

Lydecker grinned slyly. "Why? You forced me up here. I'm just an innocent bystander. Hey, they'll be lucky if I don't sue." 

Alec nodded. He then took one last shot at his pursuers, turned, and blurred for the edge of the roof. His momentum carried him almost far enough. He caught the cement edge of the adjacent building with both hands. A second later he'd swung up and over the parapet. Before the police could get him in their sights, he dashed to the opposite side, and jumped once more. Using a trick Max had taught him, he landed on the roof of a car to break his fall. By the time the National Guardsmen and police poured into the alley he was gone. 

*****

Max watched the firefight on the roof of the police station from several blocks away and her heart filled with fear. She was too late. Alec had already made his move, and now it looked like he was trapped. The police would show no mercy. They were terrified of transgenics already. All they needed was an excuse to take him down. 

"Idiot," she muttered under her breath as the tears came again. "You damn fucking idiot.You're gonna die before I can get to you." 

She knew she should go back to the tunnel, back to Terminal City. It was foolhardy exposing herself like this, doing the exact thing she'd ordered everyone else not to do. But she couldn't just leave Alec behind. 

She moved closer to police headquarters, ignoring the danger to herself. The streets were filled with squad cars and National Guard troops, uniformed men and soldiers running everywhere. She crouched low behind a pile of discarded boxes and anxiously watched the roof. There hadn't been any gunfire for over a minute, which meant one of two things. Either Alec had gotten away, or he'd been shot. Which made her remember their encounter with the Familiars above Jam Pony. Alec had been badly hurt, but he'd continued to fight. It would require a fatal hit to stop X5-494 in the heat of battle. If Alec had taken a bullet, he wasn't wounded. He was dead. 

Tears choked Max's throat as she continued to anxiously watch the rooftop. Everything had gotten too quiet. Her vision zoomed in on a group of men and she recognized Lydecker being escorted away. But there was no sign of Alec. 

Max had very rarely prayed in her life, but the words formed silently in her mind. _Please God, if you're really there, don't let him be dead. Let me see him just one more time. Please, I have to tell him something important, and he can't just die without knowing. It wouldn't be fair. He deserves this. Please God, don't let him be dead._

There was a sound behind her and Max whirled. 

He was just standing there, breathing hard, his handsome face lit by the glow of the streetlight, green eyes sparkling, full lips quirked in a smile. 

"Miss me?" he said, his voice low and rich. 

"Alec," she whispered. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, feel his body warm and hard against hers like it had been that night. His eyes were locked onto hers. He was waiting. 

She hated herself, but Max knew what she had to do."About time you showed up," she said, deliberately sounding annoyed, ignoring the words her heart wanted to scream. She nodded toward the distant rooftop. "I gather the fireworks were your show?" 

Alec had cocked his head to one side and was regarding her with a puzzled expression. "Max, did you come all the way down here to rescue me?" 

"No," Max lied. "You said not to, remember?" 

"Well, what are you doin' here?" 

"I ... I came to see Logan." 

The playful light in Alec's eyes vanished. "Logan's place is quite a ways from here," he said evenly. 

"I heard there was something going on down here, and I thought you might be trying to get away," Max said, thinking quickly. "I wasn't going to go into the station after you, but I figured the least I could do was lend you a hand if you made it this far." 

"Well, here I am," Alec said easily, arms spread wide and a wall of sarcasm between them once again. "In the flesh. Mind my company goin' to Logan's? I've got some stuff to run past him anyway." 

A police car pulled into the other end of the alley where they were standing, and several military men climbed out. Max stepped back into the shadows, her hand on Alec's arm pulling him with her. "You're welcome to come with me, but we should get out of here now," she said softly. 

"Agreed," Alec said, as he looked around for an alternate route. 

Max looked up at him, very much aware of his warmth beside her. What would it feel like to be wrapped in his arms again? The one night they'd spent together was a blur, like a dream half remembered. She wanted something real now, a memory of Alec when her mind wasn't feverish with heat. But did he really want more with her as well? More than just the sex? That night he'd said he did. And what had she done? She'd stomped on his heart with both feet. Maybe he was through with her now. Maybe it was too late. 

"Max," Alec said sharply. 

"I'm fine," she said quickly, ashamed of herself for letting her attention wander. 

"What's wrong with you?" 

"Nothing. I'm just tired." 

"I hope you're not too tired to climb, 'cause that's the only way we're gettin' out of here." He was looking up the side of the building. "Jeez, I hate this. Up and down all night long." He glanced at her, probably realizing how that sounded. 

"How can you hate heights?" Max said, accepting a boost from him onto the wall. "You're part cat." 

"It's not the heights, Max. It's the work." 

"Shut up," she hissed as he scrambled up the building behind her. "They'll hear you." 

They made it to the roof and down the other side. Once in the clear, they had three checkpoints to get by, but finally Joshua's house was in sight. Which is when Max began to really worry. It was time to tell Logan and Alec the truth. They had a right to know. The only trouble was, what she had to say might mean losing both of them. 

###


	16. Chapter 16

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 16  
Surprise!**

"Max," Logan said when they came through the door, "I've been trying to reach you--" And then he saw she wasn't alone. "Alec," he acknowledged, the eyes behind his glasses suddenly wary. 

"Hey, Logan," Alec said, nodding in the older man's direction. 

"What are you guys doing here?" Logan asked. 

"What else?" Alec said. "Hiding." 

"We went to a conference with some National Guard major and the sector police chief," Max explained. Things didn't go very well. They wanted to keep Alec as a hostage while I went back to Terminal City with their conditions for surrender." She glanced at Alec, a little smile on her lips. "Bad move on their part." 

"You rescued him, I gather?" Logan said, not trying to hide the disapproval in his voice. 

"Ahem," Alec said. 

"Not this time," she said. "Didn't need to. He got out of it all by himself for once." 

"Well, not _all_ by myself," Alec admitted. "Lydecker helped." 

"Lydecker!" Logan exclaimed. "You saw Lydecker?" 

"We both did," Max said. "He was at the meeting. He wants to recreate Manticore and have all the mutants under his control." 

"I gather you turned down the proposition," Logan said dryly. 

"Everyone did," Max said with another look at Alec. "So now it's back to where we were before, digging in and waiting. What did you want to see me about?" 

Alec knew Logan really wanted to talk to Max alone, but the funny thing was, he got the impression she didn't want that. So, impolite as it was, he dropped into in one of the old armchairs, planted both booted feet on the floor, and waited. Logan glared at him. Max, however, looked kind of relieved. 

"I've found someone to cure the retrovirus," Logan said quietly. "That is, if you're still interested in being cured." 

"Of course I want to be cured," Max said. "What do you mean by that?" 

"Well, since you and Alec are really together this time--" 

"Whoa!" Alec said, holding up one hand. He narrowed his eyes at Max. "Are we playing this game again?" He shifted his attention to Logan. "Max and I are _not_ together. Not that I didn't offer, but she turned me down. She loves you, and only you. I'm not even a close second." 

"I know you slept with her," Logan said, his voice dropping lower. 

"Max ..." Alec warned, wondering why on earth she'd told Logan. 

"Oh, she didn't inform me in so many words," Logan said, leaning back in his desk chair and propping one foot on a small table. He picked up his glass of Scotch. "But I know it happened. There was something about the way she looked at you, Alec. You can see that in a woman's eyes -- when she's been with another man." He swirled the cubes in his drink, took a sip, and turned to Max. "And remember what you said when I asked you who you really wanted? Me or him?" 

"Logan ..." Max said. Alec saw her swallow hard. "I didn't mean to--" 

"Lie to me?" Logan said. "Go sneaking around behind my back with him?" He put both feet on the floor. "Max, what I still don't understand is why the deception. First, you tell me you're with Alec, then you tell me you made it up. Then you go off and fuck the guy." 

"It was her heat," Alec said, jumping to Max's defense. "She couldn't help it. Neither could I. But it's nothing to base a permanent relationship on. She still only loves you, Cale. Like I said, I'm not in the picture. Never was." Alec glanced at Max while he talked, hoping he was saying what she wanted him to. But she looked stricken at his words, and for just a second he wondered if he wasn't missing something here. 

"Her heat?" Logan said, his voice incredulous. "You're telling me that Max went into heat like an animal and you couldn't control yourself around her?" 

"That about covers it," Alec said quietly. "No love involved. Just lust." 

"Stop it!" Max screamed. "Just, stop it, both of you!" She turned to Logan. "I love you. I always will. And I thought that love would be enough for me. But I found out there's another kind of love. With you, it was based on friendship, and helping one another out. I trusted you, and you trusted me. We were pretty much alone in the world for a year. A good team. But when I came back from Manticore things were different. I didn't want them to be, but they were." 

"Because you met Alec," Logan said slowly. 

"Maybe so," Max admitted. "I denied it for a long time, that I was developing feelings for someone besides the man I already loved. But the more Alec and I fought, the more of a jerk he was, the more I tried to hate him, the stronger the attraction became." 

Alec realized his mouth was hanging open. He closed it and swallowed, wondering if he was going insane like Ben. What he was hearing was just too unbelievable to be real. 

"It's just lust, Max," Logan said. "Sex. Not love. You're confused." 

"I told myself that for months," Max said. She turned to Alec. "It's not just because you look like Ben that I'm such a bitch to you. It's because I've been trying to keep you at arm's length, so you didn't tempt me. As long as I was angry at you, treating you terribly, it kept you from being too nice to me. I didn't want you to be nice, Alec. I didn't want you to be a good guy." Her voice dropped lower. "But it happened anyway. You _are_ one of the good guys. And somewhere along the way you stopped being such a stupid jerk and turned into a man I began falling in love with." 

Alec had suddenly noticed something. "Max--" 

But she wasn't finished. "And Logan, somewhere along the way _you_ stopped meaning the world to me and turned into just a friend. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is." 

Ouch, Alec thought. Poor Logan. "Uh, Max ... you do realize you just dumped Logan in front of almost everyone we know." He nodded at the computer screen where Dix, Luke, Mole, OC, Sketchy, and Joshua were peering at them with very wide eyes. Logan had re-established the link between Terminal City and his computer. He'd apparently been testing it out when they arrived and had forgotten to clear the connection. 

"Oh my God," Max said, covering her mouth with her hand. She looked like she was going to die from embarrassment . Alec got up and put his arm around her waist, drawing her close. "See it through," he said through clenched teeth. "It's the only way now." He glanced at their audience and smiled. 

"I'm not sure you want me to see it through," Max said in a low voice. "Not when you hear the rest." 

"The rest of what?" Alec said, suddenly not feeling so good any more, and wishing Logan would shut off the connection now. 

Max drew herself up to her full height, looked straight into the camera lens, and said, "I'm pregnant." 

There was a moment of stunned silence all around, and then their audience cheered. 

*****

"A baby!" Alec shouted. "You're havin' a baby!" He stopped in the middle of the street and took her by the shoulders. "Max, of all the times to let this happen. ..." 

"I didn't _let_ this happen, Alec!" she shouted right back at him. "_We_ let it happen! Or don't you remember your part of it!" 

Alec looked over his shoulder at Joshua's house behind them. "We need to get out of the street," he said. "Find someplace where we can talk." 

"We don't need to talk about anything," Max said, pulling away from him. "I know what I'm going to do now, and you don't play any part in it." 

"Is this when you tell me you don't love me -- again." 

"Alec, we don't have time for love right now. I've got to take care of this." 

"What do you mean 'take care of this,'" Alec said ominously. "You're not going to--" 

"I haven't decided what I'm going to do about that," Max snapped. "I'm only a week along, at least according to the blood test kit I bought. I have plenty of time to decide whether I want this baby or not. In the meantime, though, I've got something else to do." 

Alec grabbed her shoulder again, dragging her once more to a stop. "You're not seriously thinking about going to Thailand, are you?" 

"That's where the scientist is who can get rid of this virus in me," Max said stubbornly. "Alec, I want it out of my system. Who knows what problems it could cause in the future? I might even pass it on to the baby -- if there is a baby." 

"I'm going with you." 

She looked at him suspiciously, obviously expecting more of an argument. He wasn't going to give her one. He knew where she was coming from, and in a way he agreed. Better to get rid of the virus once and for all. 

"No," she said. "You're staying here." 

"You're not goin' alone. You don't even speak the language." 

"And I suppose you speak fluent Thai?" 

"As a matter of fact, I do, but that's not the point. You'd be all alone and wide open for White to pick off." 

"White won't know where I am." 

"We don't know what White knows." 

"Alec, I'm going, and you're staying here. The others in Terminal City need one of us to lead them. If something happens to me, you'll have to take over." 

"Mole can take over." 

"Mole will get them all killed. You won't." The look in her brown eyes was compelling. She put her hand on his arm. "Alec, we can't be together right now. I just told Logan that I was gone from his life for good. And I just told you that I'm probably falling in love with you. But we're going to have to wait. This baby is going to have to wait. I have to get this virus cured, and you have to lead the others while I'm gone. When I come back, we'll figure everything out." 

Every instinct Alec had was screaming that this was horribly wrong. But short of knocking Max out, carrying her bodily back to Terminal City, then tying her up, he didn't know how he could stop her. If his pleas weren't enough, then what else did he have to fight her with? 

"At least take one of the other X5's with you," he tried. "Mario would go." 

"Mario doesn't have a passport," Max pointed out. "I only have a week to see this guy, then he's going to go into hiding again. Logan gave me my papers and my plane ticket. The flight leaves in the morning. I'm going, Alec. I'll be back in a few days," she added more gently. "I promise." 

"You don't keep your promises, Max," Alec said, unable to hide the bitterness. 

She turned to go. 

"It's my child, too!" 

He almost let her walk away. She'd reached the end of the street when he blurred. When his arms went around her and his lips took hers, she didn't fight, didn't try to push him away. 

Alec knew this wouldn't last. But at least for the rest of tonight he was going to have something real with Max. There was an empty apartment in his old building. It had a bed. They wouldn't be disturbed. And, in the morning when he had to say good-bye to her, perhaps forever, he would at least know she'd truly been his for a few hours. 

###


	17. Chapter 17

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 17  
Demon**

They were afraid there would be thermal scans at the airport, but apparently all of the devices were being used by the police and National Guard downtown. Either that, or security truly didn't expect a transgenic to be flying Delta. 

Alec went with Max as far as he could, to the first security checkpoint. Their kiss was deep, but brief, her mind already on the journey and what she'd find in Thailand. 

He watched her plane take off from the shadows of a building by the parking lot. The wheels left the runway, the flight banked into the sun, and she was gone -- maybe forever. 

This all felt so wrong. 

And then he heard it -- a soft footstep, a sound way beyond human hearing but loud and clear to his transgenic senses. He didn't turn and look, merely reacted, whirling, his hand blurring. 

Lydecker 

The older man tried to say something, the words strangled by inhumanly strong fingers. Angry, but needing to know what was going on, Alec released him. 

Lydecker stumbled backwards, rubbing his bruised neck. Finally, following a fit of coughing, he spoke. "Was she on that plane?" 

"What?" 

"Was Max on that plane!" 

"Yeah. Why?" 

Lydecker closed his eyes a moment, his fists clenching at his sides. "Damn it," he swore softly. "Damn it to hell." 

Now Alec was getting scared. He took hold of Lydecker's shoulders, giving him a shake. "What? What's wrong?" 

"Logan Cale's what's wrong," Lydecker spat. "The stupid bastard sent Max into a trap." 

Alec felt as if the bottom had just dropped out of his stomach. He was actually shaking. "What trap? Who? White?" 

"Foreign agents," Lydecker said. "An X5's DNA coding is worth millions on the black market. They're waiting to take Max captive in Thailand. That scientist Cale contacted is working for them. He used to be with Manticore ... knows all about the X5's. Cale's been combing the internet the past six months trying to contact someone to get rid of that virus in Max. This guy read between the lines, figured out a transgenic was involved, and set the trap. Cale took it hook, line, and sinker." 

"How do you know this?" Alec asked, his grip on Lydecker tightening. 

"Because I know the scientist Cale contacted, Dr. Alonzo Carpeni. He defected from Manticore almost two years ago. I went to see Cale to get information about White's group, compare notes. He told me he'd just sent Max to Carpeni." Lydecker looked up at Alec, his eyes truly sad. "I'm sorry I wasn't in time to stop her. There's nothing we can do now." 

"What will they do to her?" 

Lydecker shook his head. 

"What will they do to her!" Alec yelled. 

"Vivisection," Lydecker said, his eyes locked onto Alec's. "Dissection ... She won't be alive for long, at least not most of her." 

Alec closed his eyes and forced himself to count slowly to ten. Flying off in a rage wasn't going to help anything. Manticore had taught him better. When he opened them, he found he could at least breathe again. "I'm going after her," he said. He glanced up at the sky. "There should be at least one more flight out tonight. I won't be that far behind her. Logan can get me a passport and ticket just like he did Max. He'll help me because he doesn't want Max hurt." 

Lydecker was smiling sadly. "And then Carpeni will have a two X5's instead of just one. He'll love it. A breeding pair." 

Alec's eyes narrowed. He wondered if Lydecker knew about Max's condition, or if he was just using the phrase. Either way, it didn't matter. The only important thing was getting to Max in time. 

*****

Alec was ready to scream by the time he finally made it to Joshua's house, having to sneak and creep his way around all of the checkpoints and constantly worried that a thermal scan would detect him. It was mid afternoon by the time he bounded up the steps of the old house, burst through the door, and threw a very surprised Logan Cale against the wall. 

"You son of a bitch!" Alec shouted. 

"Alec," Logan tried, gripping Alec's wrists in a vain attempt to dislodge his hands from his throat. 

"You just couldn't let her go, could you? She picked me instead of you and now you've killed her!" 

"Alec ..." 

Alec knew he was capable of destroying this man, right here and now. He could feel the heat rising in his blood, the trigger on his genetic killer instinct effectively pulled. But then a vision of Max's face appeared through the blinding red haze of rage. Max had loved Logan. Part of her still loved him. She would never forgive him if he did this. 

"You're not worth it," he muttered, letting go. The older man slumped against the wall, his breathing ragged. "Besides, I need you to get me to Thailand." 

*****

The heat and humidity struck Alec like a physical blow as he came off the plane. Slinging his backpack over one shoulder, he headed for customs where the passport and credentials Logan had provided were accepted without question. So far, so good. 

He then went over to one of the natives waiting to give disembarking tourists a ride into the Bangkok. _"Yu thii nay raeaem Hilton,"_ ((Where is the Hilton Hotel?)) he asked in flawless Thai. That was where Carpeni was supposedly staying, where Logan had sent Max. However, it had been almost 15 hours since Max's flight had arrived, and Alec had a feeling he was way too late. 

Of course there was always the chance Max had figured out the trap and gotten away. Which would still make finding her difficult because she'd be hiding. The only way to help her was to follow her trail. 

Once in the city itself, Alec approached the hotel cautiously on foot, all of his senses alert, ignoring what would normally be a great distraction -- topless prostitutes advertising their wares from storefronts along the street. He'd been to Bangkok once before, on a Manticore kidnapping mission. He remembered quite vividly the wonderful generosity of Thai women. Unfortunately, he also remembered quite vividly the painful series of cyclosporine shots he'd had to take when he got back to the U.S. 

"Ah, the memories," Alec murmured as a particularly buxom native woman winked at him. _"Thoot khrap,"_ ((Sorry)) he said politely when she approached him. _"Kuhn khrap"_ ((But thanks anyway)). The look of disappointment on her face made him briefly smile, but then he saw the Hilton ahead and thoughts of Max pushed everything else in his mind aside. 

Alec knew the name Carpeni had registered under. He went straight to the front desk and inquired if 'Donald Mason' was still in the hotel. As expected, the clerk told him Mr. Mason had checked out late last night. The room number, 23, was easy for Alec's vision to pick up from the records. He was about to sneak upstairs for a look around, when he noticed two burly foreigners seated in the adjacent lounge area staring at him. 

"Change of plans," he said under his breath. Actually, this was good. Apparently Carpeni's employers had the foresight to realize someone might come looking for Max, and that the someone might be worth capturing. They could be a direct link to Max. 

Alec went into the bar, stood at the counter, and ordered a Scotch. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the men go over and talk to the desk clerk. The fellow then rejoined his companion at the table where they continued to do an extremely poor job of trying to look inconspicuous while they watched him. 

When he'd finished his drink, Alec tossed the barkeep a few bills and walked out into the lobby. The back door was down a short hallway just beyond the elevators. 

He was waiting in the alley for them. They had guns, of course, but not for long. They'd obviously not been briefed on what to expect from an X5. In under five seconds Alec had one of the men lying unconscious on the street, felled by a crescent kick to the head, and the other pinned against the wall with his forearm. 

The man was Middle Eastern. 

_"Ayna I Max?"_ Alec said low in Arabic. ((Where is Max?)) 

The Egyptian's beady little eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. 

Alec pressed harder on his throat. _"Arbaca khansa ithman,"_ ((452)). Still nothing. _"Hue tatakallumu I-Inkliziyya?"_ ((Do you speak English?)) 

The man, apparently realizing he wasn't going to be breathing for long if he didn't answer, nodded. 

"Where did they take her?" 

A shrug. 

"Looks like it's gonna be the hard way," Alec sighed, as he brought his knee up into his captive's stomach. The fellow doubled over with pain, but Alec had no mercy, pinning him once more against the wall. "Where!" he roared. 

Still no reply. 

"Do you know what I am?" Alec hissed, his green eyes merciless. 

The Egyptian nodded once more, his own eyes beginning to fill with terror. _"Afreet,"_ he whispered. 

Alec smiled chillingly. "A demon? Guess that's as good a description of my kind as any. _Ayna I sitt afreet?"_ ((Where is the lady demon?)). 

"I will take you," the man said in English. "They are waiting for you anyway -- in the hills." 

"You bet you'll take me," Alec said, releasing his trembling captive and waving him toward the end of the alley with the gun. 

###


	18. Chapter 18

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 18  
The Cure**

Max tested her shackles for the tenth time, and for the tenth time the steel bands encircling her wrists, waist, and ankles refused to give. There was no use fighting any more. They had her, and she wasn't going to get loose. 

"Hey!" she tried shouting at the lone man guarding her. He was seated in the corner, his chair tipped back against the wall, a rifle carelessly cradled in his arms. "Who the hell are you people?" 

He ignored her. She guessed by his appearance and the long robe he was wearing that he was from a middle eastern country, maybe Iran or Iraq, possibly Egypt. He probably didn't even speak English. 

Giving up for now, she forced herself to relax, and tried to remember what had happened. 

*****

"You must be 452," Carpeni had said, greeting her at the hotel room door. "I've been expecting you." He was a rotund, balding, fatherly looking man wearing thick-lensed spectacles, a typical Manticore scientist type, probably one of the subcontractors. He spoke with a slight lisp. 

"Logan told me where to find you," Max said. "You have what I came for?" 

Carpeni took out a small black case. Inside was a hypodermic syringe filled with amber liquid. 

"That will get rid of this virus in me? For good?" 

"The cure will be permanent," Carpeni assured her. "When I heard your friend Mr. Cale was seeking an antidote for this particular virus, I began working on one using my notes from Manticore. I was actually the person who originally created the retrovirus infecting you, albeit a slightly different strain, and suggested it could be used as a biological weapon of assassination. The antidote was not hard to manufacture once Mr. Cale sent me a sample of his blood, along with paying my fee." 

"Fee? What fee? How much?" 

"One hundred thousand dollars," Carpeni said. 

Max wondered where on Earth Logan had gotten that kind of cash, but she was already rolling up her sleeve. Leave it to Logan to find a way. However, just as the needle was about to pierce her skin, she looked up and said, "I'm pregnant. This won't hurt the baby will it?" 

Carpeni smiled his fatherly smile. "On the contrary, it's a good thing you've come to me now, before the fetus matures beyond the first stage of development. If you don't receive the anti-viral agent in time, the baby will also be a carrier. And worse, the virus could mutate within the infant, potentially altering its properties so it could be lethal to others besides Mr. Cale." 

"Do it," Max said tightly. She felt the prick of the needle, and a warm sensation traveling up her arm. 

"You may feel a little dizzy." 

She _was_ feeling dizzy. A lot dizzy. And then everything just went away. 

_*****_

A dark skinned man entered the room. He, too, was wearing a robe. "How are you feeling?" he said in heavily accented English. 

"I've been better." Max replied. 

"You might as well stop struggling, 452. You'll just tire yourself needlessly." 

"What do you want from me?" Max asked. "Do you work for White?" 

"I know of no White," the man said. "I work for a government that has just paid a large sum of money for you. You can call me Musalla." 

Max now realized what was going on. She's been warned once before by Lydecker about foreign nations willing to pay almost anything to get their hands on Manticore soldiers. "I think you've made a mistake," she said. "I'm nobody you want." 

"Oh, but you are," Musalla said with a chuckle. He held up a computer disc. "Your DNA has already been tested. Then there's the small matter of your bar code. You are X5-452, one of Manticore's finest creations. My people have followed the U.S. news with great interest the past few weeks. For many years we could only watch from afar while your government developed its super soldier program. You were too well guarded, even while on missions, for us to obtain. But after Manticore was destroyed, we realized that if we were patient we would eventually be able to capture a prize. We could have had one of the earlier or later X series sooner than this, but my orders were to capture an X5, and there are precious few of your kind left. But then thankfully Mr. Logan Cale obliged us by revealing your existence. It was only a matter of time before you stepped into our trap." 

Max's head was reeling again. Logan had betrayed her? But surely not on purpose. It had been an accident. Perhaps his computer system had been hacked into, or one of his many inquiries about the virus had caught the attention of these people. 

"So," Max said. "The whole virus cure was a hoax?" 

"No," Musalla said. "Mr. Carpeni provided a true cure for your little malady. You see, my government does not want damaged goods. The virus in your body might have mutated into something more dangerous if not eliminated, and certainly would have prevented us from using your DNA to create future soldiers." 

He stepped closer to the table, his dark eyes roaming up and down her body. Max shivered, and once more tested her shackles. 

"You are very beautiful," he said. "It's a shame we must destroy such perfection. But unfortunately, it will be necessary to find out exactly how your genetics work before we can recreate the process that gave birth to you. We will have to study all of your systems -- bones, muscles, nerves, brain." He smiled. "My one real regret is that we have only a female to work with. The X5 males are said to be magnificent creatures, incredible fighting machines, the ultimate warriors. However, there is always your fetus to study. Perhaps you're carrying a son. We'll know soon enough when the testing begins. I'm truly sorry but I imagine the scientists will want to maintain your body long enough for the baby to be removed alive, four or five months. During this time you won't be very comfortable. In fact, I won't lie. There will be a great deal of pain. Afterwards, perhaps they'll allow at least the conscious part of you to die." 

Max said nothing. She wondered if Alec would ever know what had happened to her. Eventually, he'd come looking for her. She knew him too well to doubt that. But then he'd be in danger of capture as well. 

"You truly are beautiful," Musalla whispered. He stepped closer, took hold of her tank top, and ripped it from her body. 

*****

It took almost a full second for Alec to recognize the sound, a crossbow string releasing, and the delay nearly cost him his life. Spinning on his feet, he dropped his gun and caught the arrow in both hands, the steel tip stopping a fraction of an inch from his stomach. Then he dove to the ground, rolling and retrieving his weapon. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Egyptian who'd led him to this farmhouse in the hills running for his life down the road back toward Bangkok. Shadows moved in the treeline to his right. He blurred as another arrow hit the dirt where he should have been. 

There was a big problem. No cover. Not unless he headed directly toward his attackers. Behind him was an open field of shorn wheat and to either side the road. Not so much as a mailbox or a boulder to hide behind. 

Doing the only thing he could, Alec put several shots into the trees and ran for the farmhouse a quarter of a mile away. 

There were three guards in the yard. He didn't have time to be stealthy. His pursuers would be giving the alarm. He shot the first one in the chest, and would have done the same to the second but the gun clicked on empty. 

"Damn!" Alec said, and broke the man's neck instead. He picked up the guard's weapon and aimed at the third, but when he pulled the trigger nothing happened. "Huh?" Glancing down, he realized why. "Oh Geez!" The gun had a personal I.D. safety, and his DNA didn't match. Useless. With another muttered oath, Alec tossed the weapon aside and charged head first, his speed saving him from the two shots squeezed off before he had the guy unconscious on the ground. 

The front door splintered easily beneath his shoulder. 

"Max!" Alec shouted in the empty hallway. "Max!" 

"I'm here!" 

Alec actually closed his eyes for a moment, his knees shaking with relief. He'd been so afraid he wouldn't find her. But she was here. He'd been right. And now, to the rescue. 

She was in the second bedroom, alone, held by restraints on a table. Her torn clothing told an ugly tale. 

"Hey, Max," he said lightly as he looked for the catch on her shackles. "Miss me?" 

"Behind you!" Max screamed. 

But it was too late. This time he hadn't heard it in time. The arrow caught Alec in the back, its tip burrowing deep between his ribs. He cried out and fell forward, first to his knees, then collapsing, clawing at the wooden floor boards, his back and side on fire. 

"Alec!" Max screamed. "Alec!" Then, "Don't kill him! Don't kill him! He's like me! He's worth a fortune just like me!" 

A gun was cocked, cold metal pressed against his temple, and Alec closed his eyes, doubting he'd ever even hear the shot that killed him. 

###


	19. Chapter 19

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 19  
Trail of Dead**

A last second command from Musalla saved Alec's life. _"Sharmute!_ ((Fool!)). He's priceless." The guard looked at his employer, then reluctantly backed away, still holding his gun ready in case the _afreet_ tried to attack or escape. 

Max began breathing again, even though she knew their ordeal had just begun. At least Alec was still alive. 

*****

Musalla apparently only had one secure compartment where he could store his prizes, an 8 by 8 metal shipping crate in the barn. He put both of them inside, unmindful that it was over 90 degrees in the shade with nearly 100 percent humidity. The ventilation grids along the top provided no relief. 

"I thought he wanted to deliver us alive and in good shape," Max said under her breath. "Hey!" she shouted, pulling against her chains as he was closing the door. "How about at least giving us some water?" 

"You'll be taken care of when you reach your destination," Musalla said. "I've been told that with two of you to contend with, I can't take any chances. You're to be locked in and left alone." The man was obviously shaken. Apparently when he'd checked in with his superiors they'd given him an earful about just how deadly X5's could be. 

"Our destination?" Max yelled. "What's our fucking destination? "Iran, Syria, Libya? Do you think we can survive in here without food and water for that kind of journey? 

Her pleas were ignored. The door of the crate closed, confining them in near-darkness. 

Damn, it was sweltering, Max thought as she moved to Alec's side. He had shackles on his wrists and ankles as well, although they were hardly needed. He was in so much pain he could barely move. 

"Hey," she said softly, touching his shoulder with her hand. "Are you with me?" 

Alec nodded, although he was keeping his eyes closed. She brushed fingers against his cheek. His skin was cool in spite of the heat ... too cool for an X5. He was going into shock. 

"This is gonna hurt some," she warned as she rolled him over as gently as she could so she could get a better look at his wound. 

Alec whimpered in pain, his teeth biting into his lower lip. 

"Come on baby, I've got to see." The arrow had penetrated just below his right shoulder blade. "Does it hurt when you breathe?" 

He nodded. 

"Stop holding your breath," she told him. "Breathe now for me. I need to listen to you breathe." She put her ear against his back. His heart was beating way too fast, but she could still hear the air filling his lungs. If there was internal bleeding, it was slow. The wound wasn't hemorrhaging externally much either. 

"How bad?" Alec rasped. 

"Could be worse," Max replied, her brown eyes darker than usual with worry. She touched his cheek again. "Do you want me to try and get the arrow out?" Such a procedure was going to be risky. Max knew she could do a hell of a lot more damage pulling the thing out of him than what it did going in. On the other hand, she wouldn't truly be able to stop the bleeding while the arrow head was lodged between his ribs. Alec's blood loss might be slow, but it was steady. She doubted he could last for a long journey. 

Alec groaned. 

"I know, it's gonna hurt like hell," Max said gently. "I know how much you hate this kind of shit. But Alec, I think we better get it out now. You can't even move with it in you, and we really need to get out of this box before Musalla ships us both off to some sheik's tent in the dessert. Not to mention you could bleed to death in the meantime." 

Alec nodded. _Do it._

Max tore a piece of cloth from her ruined t-shirt, wound it tightly, and gently placed it between Alec's teeth so he'd have something to bite down on. Then she wiped his blood from her hands and carefully took hold of the arrow shaft where it protruded from his back beneath the shoulder blade. Hating to do this, but knowing if she hesitated it would hurt Alec even more, she clenched her teeth and pulled as hard as she could. The arrow head moved with a sickening crunch in his flesh, then caught -- wedged tight beneath his rib. 

Alec tried so hard not to scream. Max felt him trembling beneath her, his hands balled into tight fists, his breathing ragged as little sounds of agony escaped from his lips. 

And suddenly there was a lot more blood, darkening his t-shirt and turning her hands crimson. 

"Damn," Max swore as tears pricked her eyes. "That's a vein." 

Alec was nearly unconscious. She didn't know if he could even hear her. Lying on his side, he was panting like a winded animal, his breaths short and shallow now, his skin not only cold, but clammy. 

She'd done more harm than good. And now there was no way to get the arrow head out without surgical instruments or at least a knife. 

Wadding up more of her own t-shirt, Max tried to staunch some of the bleeding. But in the end, all she could do was cradle Alec's head in her lap and stroke his hair. 

*****

It had been dark for awhile, near midnight Max figured. Musalla would probably be shipping them out at dawn. Or rather, he'd be shipping _her_ out. Alec wasn't going to make it. "Maybe you're the lucky one after all," Max whispered as she held him close. "At least you'll be free from this hell we call our lives." She wondered something then. Did transgenics have souls? Would she and Alec ever be together on another plane of existence? Or would they be nothing but dirt after death, gone back to the molecular components the scientists had created them from? 

"A spirit like yours can't just cease to exist," Max murmured in his ear. "That kind of fire doesn't just go out." 

But then she remembered the trail of dead littering the path of her life -- Jondy, Ben, Zack in a way. All of them gone, _their_ fires extinguished. And now Alec was going to join them. Max's only consolation was that she probably wouldn't be far behind. 

A sound penetrated her thoughts -- a helicopter in the distance. She listened, and realized it was getting closer. Surely Mussala wouldn't be moving this crate by air? 

She would have given a lot for windows, but all she could do was sit still and wait, listening, wondering what was happening. There was no doubt now. The chopper was getting closer. 

Gunfire. 

And for the first time in two days Max began to have some hope. But who would be rescuing them? Logan didn't have those kinds of resources, and certainly the U.S. government didn't care. 

The battle didn't last for long. In less than two minutes the chopper was hovering directly overhead and she heard someone shouting outside the barn. She wanted to call out, but until she knew who it was, Max wasn't about to reveal their presence. 

And then she heard a voice. "452? We've been sent to extract you. What's your location? Code 1190." 

Max still wasn't certain if it was friend or foe. But Alec stirred, his eyes fluttering open. "Code 1190," he said weakly. "That's a Manticore unit out there." 

"We don't know what they'll do to us," Max cautioned. "We can't trust them." 

"Max," Alec managed. "We don't leave our own behind. Not ever." 

Which meant they were either going to rescue them, or kill them. Max made up her mind. After all, what did they have to lose? "We're here!" she shouted. "In the barn!" 

"They're coming," she said, looking down at Alec. But then she realized how heavy and still he'd grown in her arms. 

###


	20. Chapter 20

**The Best Laid Plans**  
By Valjean

**Chapter 20  
Deal**

"Save him, and you've got a deal," Max said. They were in the helicopter headed for the airport, the three X5's Lydecker had brought with him making short work of Musalla and his men. 

Lydecker was looking at her, his lips quirked in a small smile. Max held Alec more tightly. He was bleeding to death, dying in her arms. So far, no one had offered to help him. "Damn it," she said. "If he dies, I swear I'll ..." She didn't finish the sentence because she honestly didn't know what she could threaten the man with. He was holding all the cards now, including Alec's life. 

One of the X5's who'd pulled her from the metal crate nodded toward a pile of gear. "We have first aid supplies, sir. We could even do a blood transfusion." 

Max didn't recognize the soldier. He certainly wasn't from Terminal City. 

"X5-386 and the others were on long term undercover assignments when Manticore was destroyed," Lydecker explained. "I was able to bring them in before White's massacre." 

"Part of your new and improved Manticore?" 

"Exactly." Lydecker leaned forward. "And I'd like you to be part of it as well. That's the deal, Max. I'll save him for you if you agree." 

"What good would my word be?" Max said bitterly. 

"Good enough," Lydecker said. He nodded at Alec. "Make up your mind. He doesn't have much time. There are limits to even an X5's recuperating powers." 

"But you'll let Alec go? You won't try and keep him too." 

Lydecker was shaking his head. "If he lives, 494's part of the deal as well. I know you can't speak for him, but I trust you _will_ be able to convince him. I'm betting he won't leave you anyway." 

Max took a deep, shaky breath, realizing what she said next was not only going to alter the rest of her life, but Alec's too. Then she looked down at Alec lying so still and bloody in her arms and knew she didn't have any choice -- neither of them did. 

"All right," she said, a part of her dying with the words. "I'll work for you. And I'll convince Alec to as well. Just save him." 

"And the other mutants in Terminal City?" Lydecker pressed. 

"If you offer a decent deal, I'll try and get them to surrender to you," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. 

Lydecker nodded at X5-386. "Get to work," he said. "494's no use to me dead." 

*****

Alec knew where he was even before he opened his eyes. Antiseptic ... bleach ... medicinal ... No doubt about it. A morgue didn't smell like laundry detergent. He was in a hospital. Which meant he was alive. 

He took a tentative deep breath, found the pain tolerable, and slowly opened his eyes. Max seated beside his bed was a pleasant surprise, and instantly banished the huge fear he hadn't even allowed himself to acknowledge yet. 

"Hey," he said, his voice raspy. 

"Hey, yourself," Max said, her eyes lighting up in a way he never thought they would for him. She took hold of his hand. "You're gonna be fine." 

"I gather we got rescued? 'Cause _I_ sure didn't get you out of there." 

She held a glass of ice chips to his lips. The liquid trickled down his throat, relieving some of the dryness. "Yeah, we got our asses saved just in the proverbial nick of time." 

"Logan?" 

"No, at least not directly." 

Alec thought a moment, then frowned. "Lydecker?" 

Max nodded. "I'm afraid so." 

"And .. wait, wait ... let me guess. You sold your soul to him in return for gettin' us out of there." 

Max looked away. "Worse," she said quietly. 

Now a new fear was fluttering in Alec's heart. "Max, what did you do?" 

"Alec, you were dying. I had no choice." 

"_What_ did you do?" 

"I sold both our souls." 

*****

Alec wasn't happy about the situation. But, on the other hand, he couldn't truly blame Max. It wasn't as if he would have made a different choice. Besides, Lydecker's deal was turning out to be more workable than anyone had thought. 

"The X5's, 6's, 7's, and 8's will be under my direct command," Lydecker had told the assembled mutants in Terminal City. "They'll do the work they were created for. I've received funding from a private source to refurbish an abandoned base just east of Seattle. There are 1000 acres around the compound, more than enough to insure our privacy. This will be the New Manticore." 

"And the rest of us?" Mole had shouted from the angry crowd. "Your precious transgenics will be taken care of but what about us transhumans." 

"There's room enough for all of you," Max said, stepping forward. "Lydecker promises you'll be well taken care of." 

"But we'll be prisoners!" Dix yelled. 

"No," Lydecker said. "Living on the compound will be voluntary. However, considering how hostile society is toward you, I think you'll find that being under Manticore's protection again isn't such a bad option. We'll find jobs for all of you to do. You'll have a roof over your heads, food, and medical attention. If you want to walk out the front gate, you can. The only stipulation is that, once outside the compound, you'll be fair game. We won't be rescuing you, no matter what kind of trouble you get into." 

"What about White?" Mole said, shouldering his way to the front of the crowd. "Will you protect us from him and his Familiars?" 

"You'll be protected from White so long as you're with us," Lydecker said grimly. "There's a reason he wants all of the Manticore creations dead. We aren't sure what that reason is yet, but the government is backing me on the hunch you're valuable in some way. However, let me say again, if you leave the compound, your lives are in your own hands. I can't protect you from White outside." 

Afterwards, Lydecker had a separate meeting with the X5's and above. Alec looked around the room, disheartened there were so few left -- he counted 36 altogether, including himself, Max, and the X's Lydecker had pulled in from solo missions after Manticore burned. 

"The plan for you is a bit different," Lydecker said, looking around at them all. "We want you working for us, for Manticore, but we also want you integrated into society." 

"I thought you said the ordinaries hated us so much we wouldn't be safe on the outside," Gem said, cradling Maxine in her arms. 

"There's going to be that danger," Lydecker replied. "But we need to try. It's the only way the transgenics can survive in the long run, by eventually being accepted as part of the human race. The transhumans are just too different. It would never work. But some of you have lived with the ordinaries for years without incident." 

Alec realized Lydecker was looking at him and Max. He shifted his stance where he was leaning against the wall. His ribs still hurt a bit, but Dr. Shankar had done a good job. The wound from two weeks ago was nearly healed. "Does this mean no cells?" he asked sarcastically. 

"No cells," Lydecker said. "In fact, as far as I'm concerned, you can live in Seattle, go back to your old homes if you had them." 

"What's the catch?" Alec said. 

"The catch is that you'll be issued identification cards you'll have to carry at all times. On them will be your address, photograph, fingerprints, and DNA coding. You'll be labeled as transgenics and will have to show that I.D. every time you pass through a sector checkpoint." The crowd began to murmur. "You're right in assuming this is a way to keep track of you, and I agree it will be a danger -- a way to quickly pinpoint all of you. But the government insists. It's the one condition they made before granting you your freedom." 

It's a way for White to find us," Max said from her place at Alec's side. 

Lydecker didn't deny it, and, after the meeting was adjourned, Alec motioned to Max that the two of them needed to have a little talk in private with their new boss. 

*****

"You're telling me Max and I can just go back to living our lives again?" Alec said. 

"For the most part," Lydecker replied. 

Max, standing beside him, crossed her arms over her chest. "Why don't I believe you?" 

"Don't you two want to go home?" 

Alec made a wry face. "_Home_ wasn't that great to begin with -- a run down dump of an apartment with barely running water and electric that might or might not work at any moment." Max elbowed him in the ribs -- the sore ones. "Ow! What did I say?" 

"Shut up!" she said. "It's not such a bad deal considering." 

"I was just tryin' to get him to sweeten the pot a little." Alec looked at Lydecker again. "But you want more from us of course. You talked about putting us to use. We're gonna hafta earn the right to be free. Do what you say." 

"That's one way of putting it. You and Max will be on 24-hour-a-day call for missions -- anything we want you to do." 

"Anything?" Alec said. 

"Not murder," Max said quickly. "We won't be your assassins." 

"We'll talk about that later. Most of your assignments will be more unique than a mere assassination. Some, I think you'll even find an interesting challenge." He looked them both up and down. "Remember what you are. Remember what you can do, the things you've been trained for. Those are the skills I want to utilize, the skills I've convinced our government are worth nurturing rather than destroying." 

"He wants us to be cat burglars for Uncle Sam," Alec said under his breath to Max. Then to Lydecker, "So, we just walk out of here today, go back to the city, and wait for some mysterious voice on a phone? Sort of like 'Mission Impossible'?" 

"Basically, yes. You can pick up your I.D. cards and new cell phones on the way out. I need you to both carry pagers as well. You're to check in with me once a day, whether or not you're on assignment." 

"And if we don't?" Max asked, eyebrows raised in skepticism. 

Lydecker smiled grimly. "I think you know the answer to that." 

Alec was shaking his head. "I don't like it." 

"Did I mention you'll have medical care?" Lydecker was looking at Max. Then he nodded to Alec. "She has to be protected you know. There was talk about incarcerating her at the CDC for study. Her DNA is puzzling. But I convinced the Committee she'd be safe enough on the outside for now, and infinitely more useful." 

Of course Lydecker knew about the baby, Alec thought. But he had to give the man credit for not using that knowledge directly against them. He looked at Max, and read the answer in her eyes. "Do we get a dental plan, too?" he asked. 

*****

"So, you and I are gonna be roomies again," OC said as she packed her meager belongings from Terminal City in a duffel bag. 

"Looks that way," Max said. "Provided you still want me." 

"Boo, as far as I'm concerned, you're my sister and I love you to pieces. Of course I still want you." OC looked out across the room. All around them the mutants were getting ready to move out, to be transported by the military to their new home in the woods about 50 miles east of Seattle. Alec was talking to Joshua and Mole on the other side of the command center. "What about your boy? I sort of thought you and he would be makin' a little love nest together." 

"I just can't decide about that right now," Max said. "I love him, but ..." 

"You're not sure you can live with him." 

Max smiled a little. "What's that old saying? Can't live with him, can't live without him. That's pretty much describes Alec and me." 

"He _is_ the daddy of that baby though," OC reminded her. "Knowin' our boy, he's not gonna take that lightly." 

"I wouldn't want him to," Max said. She smiled again. "And I imagine there are going to be some nights you'll have our place all to yourself." 

"He goin' back to his apartment?" 

Max nodded. "Question is, will Normal take us back. We need a job with very flexible hours and an understanding boss." 

OC put her arm around Max's shoulders. "Sugar, old Normal will have you and Alec on time cards in a heartbeat. Fact is, he already gave me and Sketchy our old jobs back, didn't so much as scold us for bein' gone. He might even be willin' to employ some of your kin when they go out in the world." 

"Only this time he'll know we're all transgenics," Max said. She turned to OC. "It will be just like old times, won't it?" 

"Just like old times, Boo," OC said, giving her a hug. "Now, let's you and me head home. We've got some unpackin' and cleanin' up to do." 

*****

Alec saw Max and OC heading for the main door and moved to intercept them. "Ladies," he said. "Headed back out into the cold cruel world?" 

"Headed home is more like it," OC said. She gave Max a knowing smile. "I'll wait down the street for you." 

"You sure you want to do this?" Alec asked after OC had gone. 

"What choice do I have?" Max said with a sigh. She looked around at the departing mutants. "What choice do any of us have?" Joshua was still talking to Mole. "At least we'll know that Joshua is safe, and we can visit him whenever we want." 

"So Lydecker says." 

"You don't believe him?" 

"Not a word." 

"Then why did you agree to do this with me?" 

"Because you promised him I'd be part of the package." 

"Alec," she said, and he saw the fear in her eyes. "You can go if you want to. You're free. You could travel any place in the world, make a new life for yourself. You've got skills ..." 

"Now, where would I go?" he said gently. "Max, you were right when you said that the important thing is for our kind to stick together no matter what. I don't want to be alone any more than you do. And besides ..." He looked meaningfully at her stomach. "I'm gonna be a daddy. You don't think I'd miss out on that, do you? I'm gonna have a family to take care of." 

"Oh, so now you're a family man," Max laughed, obviously not believing him. 

"I'd like to try," Alec said honestly. "That is ... if you'll let me." 

She hugged him then. And nothing in Alec's entire life had ever felt so good, except maybe the kiss that followed. 

*****

POSTLUDE

"I'm sorry," she said. 

Logan couldn't look at her, and she knew she was hurting him. 

"I'll always be your friend," she tried. 

"Stop it, Max," he said, his back to her, staring at the computer screen. "You know I'll always be your friend, too. But right now I just can't look at things that way. I honestly thought that curing the virus would bring you back to me. I swear, I didn't know you'd be in danger. I'll never forgive myself for that. But now that we're okay together ... can't we at least try? I don't care about the baby. We could pretend it's ours." 

"Logan ..." she said softly. She lightly put her hand on her belly. "The baby already has a father." 

"Maybe if we had found a cure a year ago," he persisted. "Maybe then you never would have even considered him." 

"I think Alec and I were going to find one another no matter what," Max said, surprised at how right those words felt. "It's almost as if we were destined for one another from the moment we met." 

"I thought _we_ were destined for one another," Logan said, his voice cracking with emotion. He finally turned around. "Maybe we still are." 

"Logan, I'm having his baby. Nothing can change that." 

"You've decided to keep it then? For certain? There's still time if you want to--" 

"I could never kill his child." Max was surprised at the vehemence she put in those words. She hadn't realized until this moment just how strongly she felt. 

"And Alec wants this? The baby? You're sure he won't get scared and leave?" 

"Yes, he wants our child. He'll stand by us ... protect us. We're his family now, and he's ours." 

"And you're all right with going back to Manticore?" 

"Probably," Max said. "We'll see." 

"You know there's already talk about forced sterilizations," Logan said. "Senator McCarthy is having a field day on the news shows, rambling about contaminating the human bloodline, and the X's being a subhuman race that shouldn't be allowed to breed." 

Max swallowed hard and once again her hand touched her womb. "We won't let that happen," she said. "I don't think Lydecker will either. He wants an army of X's. And now, with the genetic technology and scientists scattered, his only way to build that army is for us to have children, voluntarily this time." 

"Lydecker has only limited power," Logan warned. "He might not be able to protect you ... any of you. And he's going to be using you, sending you on dangerous missions." 

"Would you help me if I needed you?" Max asked. 

"You know I would." 

"Would you help Alec?" 

Logan smiled sadly. "Max, I don't hate Alec. In fact, that's part of the problem. I think he's a good man. But I admit I'm also insanely jealous of him. I knew he loved you from the beginning, even if he didn't know it himself. And I knew he might eventually win you away from me. But I don't wish him any harm, both because I'd like to consider him a friend, and because I know you love him." 

Max smiled wryly. "Alec isn't even speaking to you at the moment. He's still ticked as hell about Bangkok." 

"He has a right to be." Logan looked at her for a long moment. "Tell Alec ... tell him when you see him that I truly am sorry. Although I'm not sure he cares." 

"He cares," Alec said from the doorway. "And he heard you." 

Max looked up, surprised. 

"Alec--" Logan said. 

Alec held up his hand. "Not now. Maybe someday. But let's just leave it for now." Then to Max, "You ready?" 

"Where are you guys going?" 

"Out to the new Manticore," Max said. "We promised Joshua we'd come visit tonight, check out his quarters." 

"At least they gave us our motorcycles back," Alec said. "Not that we wouldn't have jacked a couple more. But even Lydecker had to admit his secret agents couldn't very well be relying on bus fare." 

"Did they get all the weapons away from the mutants?" Logan asked. "I heard there was supposed to be some kind of confiscation when they checked in. 

Max grinned. "They've collected a few, but Lydecker's people are so concerned about having the transhumans come in voluntarily I don't think anyone's being real strict about it." 

"Oh," Alec said, suddenly remembering something. "Speakin' of bein' strict, Normal wants us in at six thirty tomorrow, bright and early, bip bip." 

Max nodded. "No problem getting our old jobs back?" 

"Not for me," Alec said with a smug grin. "He welcomed his golden boy with open arms. You though ... I had to make a few promises." 

Max looked at him suspiciously. "What kind of promises?" 

"Well Max, let's just say Normal's expectin' some ladylike behavior from you from now on." 

She punched him in the arm. 

"Ow!" 

"So," Logan said. "You guys going to be okay?" 

Max smiled at Alec. "Yeah," she said, looking into those sparkling green eyes. "I think we will." 

THE END

###


End file.
